Emancipated Minor - Extended (EM-E)
by cre8tvdeb
Summary: This is a pseudo-sequel to Emancipated Minor. A change in a minor scene leads to a different sequence of events during Harry's 5th year, when he has been facing hardship entirely on his own. He needs the legal right to protect himself from abuse by adults. Follows OOTP, but all events occur 1st term. Mentor/bonding fic. Slightly AU Severus in the beginning/more as the story goes on
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: If you have not yet read _Emancipated Minor,_ this story being a pseudo-sequel may leave you feeling like I've glossed over important background information. So, of course, I'd recommend reading the original _EM_ first, and then come back to _EM-E_. **

Chapter 1 - EM-E - Rewind - Part I

Severus Snape paced around the living room area of his quarters at Hogwarts, struggling with the convoluted thoughts that were running rampantly through his mind. It was December twenty-third, and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had not yet publicly acknowledged his own eye-witness account from five days prior that Voldemort had indeed returned. He curled his lip as he thought of the overinflated wizard politician going to such lengths to one-up The Boy Who Lived's claims of Voldemort's resurrection from last summer. It was clear that Fudge still had it out for Potter, and Severus suspected that his lack of effort to reassure Wizarding Britain that their safety was the main priority for the Ministry of Magic reflected an off-the-record vendetta that took precedence. _Fudge is still hoping to hide behind his denial and lies._ That put Severus in a very precarious position while babysitting Potter for a two solid weeks. He would be guarding the headstrong nuisance from both Fudge _and_ the Dark Lord, all the while spying for the Order, and keeping an eye on the castle as Minerva recovered from her Umbridge-instilled injuries at St. Mungo's. Oh, and he also needed to act as Deputy Headmaster while he was at it. And the icing on this proverbial cake of his? Severus had to manage all of this in the worst possible set of circumstances he could imagine: while Harry Potter nursed intense grief and guilt over the loss of his godfather.

He stopped pacing for a moment as that really sank in. He'd seen for himself that the boy was depleted and depressed. This was something he was truly not prepared to deal with, nor could he imagine Potter wanting his help with his emotional dramas. Severus resumed his pacing, replaying their confrontation from earlier this afternoon, and the way the idiot boy had described his outrageously risky floo call to Grimmauld Place to confront his godfather some weeks back. _That_ was the type of nonsense that Severus would absolutely not tolerate. He'd threatened Potter with corporal punishment, and truly hoped the reckless little fool had taken him seriously, because although he'd seen sides of Potter today that revealed a very vulnerable young wizard, Severus' own sense of self preservation would induce him to deliver on his threat. It was clear the boy was keeping significant secrets, and the idea of _Potter keeping secrets_ put Severus on edge, more than any other factor.

He once again recalled Albus' accusation that he, Severus Snape, had been predatorial in his treatment of Potter, and the defensive rage leapt right back to the surface, still raw, _and still ridiculous._ However, Severus was going to have to improve the communication between himself and the boy. _Hmmm. Where to begin, in that regard?_ Simple logic dictated that he earn the boy's trust, and the easiest way to do so would be to become Potter's confidant. He'd been genuinely shocked by the boy's admission that he'd not been wanted at his aunt's home. Admittedly, there was still a small part of Severus that suspected Potter was just being difficult. He was an adolescent, after all. But even as that very thought formed in Severus' mind, a nagging _what if_ kept prodding at his conscience.

_So, that is where I will need to begin,_ he acknowledged. _Tomorrow,_ he thought, after Petunia Dursley and her obnoxious walrus of a husband, and ham hock of a son had settled into their new dwelling at the Order's only safe house in Somerset. Albus wanted Severus to discover why the wards had failed on Privet Drive. And so he would, and he had a suspicion he would also find a correlation between Potter's secrets and those supposedly unbreakable protective spells.

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At ten past six, Severus stepped through the floo into the Gryffindor common room to find Potter sleeping, curled up in the large, overstuffed armchair that sat several feet clear of the hearth. His glasses were off, set somewhere out of view, and his face was relaxed, and looking very youthful and innocent. The boy had kicked off his shoes and one threadbare sock, and there were angry red rub spots on his exposed foot that looked like they hurt. Severus noticed how large the shoes were, compared to Potter's smaller feet and frowned in confusion. Potter was still in the oversized dress shirt and jeans from earlier, but the blazer was nowhere to be seen. He turned to glance back into the fireplace and saw the unburned remains of a sleeve of the blazer as the only surviving remnants of whatever demons setting it ablaze was supposed to have released. Severus narrowed his eyes, wondering what was behind that action.

"Potter," he said in a low voice. The boy did not stir. He stepped over and wrapped his hand around the teen's upper arm and gave it a squeeze, this time saying more loudly, "Wake up, Potter."

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Harry's entire body _jerked,_ as if he'd slammed onto a hard surface, forcing him to suck in air as he opened startled eyes that could not see clearly. _"Wha-?"_

Someone had a firm grip on his arm, which didn't make sense because he'd been falling… through the cavernous underground that constituted Gringott's access passages to all of the vaults. His arms instinctively circled his middle in delayed response to the sharp blow of magic that had hit his left side. His entire torso was sore, as if he'd been punched. Hard.

Worse, Harry was blinking rapidly, trying to clear his vision to no avail, as a feeling of panic overcame him. _Why can't I see?_

"It's after six o'clock, young man," Severus was saying to him in a tone he had not used with Harry in ages.

His grip on Harry's arm wasn't particularly kind as he tugged a bit, as if expecting Harry to jump to his feet. "Where are-" Harry sputtered. "Severus, what's going on?"

There was a long silence. He could see his guardian's white shirt and black trouser-clad form through the familiar blur of poor vision that he'd been so fantastically free from, for nearly three weeks now. Severus' tall, lean form was standing slightly off to the side in front of him. While his befuddled brain delayed its processing of the stony silence from his guardian, Harry was also recognizing the Gryffindor common room, and the squishy chair he had spent a lot of time in over the holidays…

Blurry Severus stepped closer, slowly bending forward, placing blurry hands onto the arms of the chair, on either side of Harry, as he leaned in to coldly say to Harry's face, "How _dare_ you address me so casually? You will call me _sir,_ or _Professor,_ or you. will. regret it."

Harry's stomach plunged at the sound of Severus' threat. He opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it. Something was very, very wrong. "Sorry, sir," Harry said automatically, already falling back into the shutdown mode he used to escape into when around his nasty potions professor. This was not _Severus_ in front of him. It was _Snape._

_What is going on?_

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Severus glared at The Boy Who Lived, who still sat in the armchair, blinking dumbly, emotions masked in his usual manner, and his tone of voice dull and indifferent. Trigger-fast anger was pulsing through his veins at the boy's audacity and he quickly included Black and Lupin in his resentment. Those two had allowed Potter license to be on far more familiar terms with them than was appropriate. Potter had much to learn about boundaries and manners.

"I told you to be down in my quarters for dinner at six o'clock. You have rudely kept me from my own meal," Severus said tersely. The boy was continuing to avert his face, not acknowledging or responding to Severus. "What. Have you. Got. To. Say. For yourself?" Severus demanded.

"I'm trying to wake up, sir," Potter said in a small voice. "I think I'd better go splash water on my face."

"Go," Severus said with an audible sneer. "I'll wait."

Potter started to rise, but then seemed to realize he'd see better with his glasses and felt around for them. Severus sighed harshly and bent down to snatch them from the floor and thrust them toward the groggy teen. Potter put the glasses on with shaking hands, hastily grabbed his rucksack, the shoes and the one sock, and scooted up the staircase to his dorm.

Severus was a _tad_ bothered that the boy was shaking.

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Harry stood in front of the sink, staring at his reflection in shock. The running faucet forgotten, he pulled Dudley's white dress shirt out from the confines of his waistband and lifted it enough to expose the sore part of his torso where Bellatrix Lestrange had hexed him a little while ago… His breathing began to come in gasps as he took in the appearance of the already black and blue mark along his left side. It looked like an overly large shoeprint, but next to the heel was the unmistakable impression of a time turner, which he recognized because he clearly remembered the one McGonagall had leant to Hermione in third year.

_I've been sent back in time!_ The realization made his stomach plummet so far downward he nearly vomited. He thought about third year, when he and Hermione had gone back to change the outcome of the Dementor attack on Sirius. Hermione had told him how dangerous it was to time travel, and how the person from the future could easily destroy himself or the lives of others by being careless… that the simple difference in a seemingly minor dialogue could alter the future dramatically. She'd said that terrible things happen to wizards who play with time.

So, where was his other self? Why was he dressed as he'd been that first day here, when Remus and Severus had come for him at his aunt's, instead of in the clothes he'd purchased in London with Severus? He looked at his sockless foot and remembered getting the blisters that were again visible. _Yeah, I got those from the bloody dress shoes on December twenty-third._ They were there now. _So how come I've also got a mark from the hex from January twenty-first?_ he wondered. _Because nothing will ever be fair or simple in your life._ Tears were prickling the corners of his eyes as the now instinctive habit of reaching for his Lucius-made galleon to send a message to Severus or the others proved fruitless. He had no such galleon. It hadn't been created yet. He was not friends with Lucius Malfoy, and Remus was not yet here at the school. And Severus had never yet come to see him as anything more than a significant annoyance that needed to be put in his place. Harry cast a final look at himself in the mirror, rapidly succumbing to the feeling of futility about his life, a feeling that he'd believed to be gone forever, just this morning, when Severus had suggested that he adopt Harry and they become _next of kin_ to each other.

_"Potter!" _Severus', no, _Snape's_ voice barked angrily into the bathroom via a voice projecting spell.

Turning to rush back into his dorm and scrounge out extra socks and Dean's old trainers because his good ones were still in the cupboard with his jacket on Privet Drive, Harry was hit with another realization that literally made him trip and fall onto his hands and knees.

_Voldemort is still alive._

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Snape was waiting for him by the fireplace. The hostility coming off of the older wizard was palpable. Harry's already sunken stomach began to twist into knots as he walked over to his former guardian, growing more reluctant as he realized he would have to sit through dinner with this angry version of the potions master, as if there had never been a four week stretch of life-altering events that had broken down barriers between them. _Don't think about it! _he cautioned himself. He remembered this dinner, the last time around. Harry could not bear to repeat it. His mind raced as he stepped into the floo. He'd already changed the course of events by waking up and making Snape think he was being cheeky. Frankly, Snape was already exponentially more annoyed with him now than he had been then. _I've already changed things._ Harry went straight to the floo and dropped a pinch of powder, saying in a very strained voice, "Severus Snape's Slytherin Sanctuary!" relieved to be able to disappear from sight, if only for a moment.

He emerged into Severus' quarters and his eyes immediately went to the spot where the added-on door to his new bedroom should be. Nothing.

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Severus emerged from the floo and gave Potter an assessing look before jerking his head toward the small kitchenette to indicate the boy should lead the way in. They each took a seat and served themselves shepard's pie from the large dish in the center of the table. Severus did not miss the greenish palor on Potter's face nor the still present tremble in his hands.

Potter seemed to be summoning courage, but kept his eyes cast downward as he said, "Professor, I honestly don't think I can eat, sir. I'll get sick."

Severus sighed in annoyance, summoning a calming drought and putting it on the table in front of Potter's plate.

The boy looked at the potion, clearly not convinced it would be of much help. He swallowed hard, raising pained eyes to meet Severus'. "I didn't mean to be disrespectful earlier. I was confused when I woke up and had been dreaming… an odd dream."

_"Clearly,_ you were dreaming," Severus said, unyielding and not acknowledging the boy's apology. His thoughts were too consumed with the multitude of ways Potter's behavior could endanger them both. He watched the boy uncork the potion vial and drink it down. There was minor visible improvement, but he was clearly still an emotional mess. "You are being very tight-lipped about what actions of yours may have been the cause of the wards failing at your aunt's home," Severus said.

Potter's breathing began to grow labored as he poked at his food with a very distinct lack of interest. He kept his eyes cast away from Severus', but raised his head when he said, "I have no idea why they failed. My stay this time was no different than any other."

"Oh, come now, Mr. Potter," Severus said snidely. "You can do better than that. You have angst written all over your face. I would bet galleons that you know exactly why the wards failed today."

Harry couldn't look at the bastard sitting across the table from him. He distinctly remembered Snape having the audacity to think that Harry would confide in him over this dinner the last time around. He was fearful of the outright danger he was in, that he could potentially be putting Remus, or Lucius in, or any of his friends. He struggled to recall when Lucius had made their galleons, and the memory surfaced with a rush of panic. He raised his eyes to meet Snape's, remembering now that the older wizard's compassionate side had emerged when Harry had cried over Hedwig's demise. _She's still alive!_ he realized. _Think, Harry! Think! _"What do you want to know?" he asked the dark and cruel version of his guardian.

Snape raised a surprised eyebrow. "I want to know what you're keeping secret, of course," he said baldly.

Harry hoped he wasn't digging a new grave for his familiar as he said. "If I share something with you, can I ask you to help me on something?"

Snape contemplated him, obviously not having expected Harry to barter favors for information. "What is it that you want my assistance with?" he asked slowly, eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Harry pressed his lips together, stemming the surge of desperate hope that colored his voice when he admitted, "I'm really, really afraid for my owl. She's been hurt already by the Ministry monitoring, and with me being here, she could try to bring me mail, and-"

"Where is she now, Potter?" Snape asked tersely, clearly annoyed at finding himself persuaded to help Harry.

"I think she's in the owlery," Harry replied. "Sir, could you maybe let me go up there? If I stay under my cloak? I can tell her not to respond to any requests to bring me letters." The responding sneer on Snape's face made Harry's skin tighten, as much as his self esteem withered, along with his momentary hope to have begun the process of dismantling the wall between him and Severus. "Or perhaps you could just tell her on my behalf," he mumbled.

"I believe I will do the latter," Snape said coldly. "Now, as you are receiving the help you requested, I want to know what you are keeping secret."

"My entire life is full of secrets, sir," Harry said, anger rising. "I've had to keep them to survive." He glared at Snape, but the older wizard simply leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, eyebrow raised over an impatient expression. Harry sighed. "It's a good bet that the wards failed because my uncle believes I summoned the Dementors to Little Whinging last summer to show off my magic," he said angrily. "My aunt told me that I shouldn't have come back this time. That she couldn't protect me from my uncle." Harry shook his head, adding disdainfully, "As if she'd _ever_ tried to protect me from _anything."_

Harry had his eyes on the table, fully expecting to have gotten under Snape's skin with that admission, but when the potions master responded, his unsympathetic tone was galling.

"So they also see you as a show-off?" Snape asked.

Harry's eyes shot up, and his face must have revealed the betrayal he felt because Snape's expression did actually register that he'd seen something. "Yes, they do. Just like you do," Harry said angrily. "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when Aunt Petunia knew you today. I've often thought you must know my aunt and uncle, because you say the same sort of awful things to me that they do. Nearly verbatim, at times."

"What sort of things do we say that are _nearly verbatim,_ Potter?" Snape asked dangerously. Harry held his glare on Snape for as long as he dared, but when Snape's lip began to curl with a snarl of rage that was all for Harry, his bravado faltered, and he realized he was playing with fire. And to what end, anyway? He'd already lost everything.

"Answer me, Potter," Snape commanded.

Harry didn't want to say any more, but he did admit in a quiet voice, "They call me _boy,_ and _Potter,_ as if saying 'Harry' makes their skin crawl. They call me lazy, say that I'm full of myself. They say I'm just like my worthless parents, who cared only about themselves. They grow tense when I'm nearby, and blame me for things I don't do." Harry's voice tapered off. He was going to cry if he continued, and this time around, all of his instincts told him not break down in front of Snape.

"Continue," Snape pushed, still leaning back in his chair, expression unreadable.

Harry shook his head vehemently, clenching his jaw against the desperate rush of isolation that was being reawakened by these crazy circumstances. His eyes were filling as they darted up to meet Snape's, and emotion made his voice break when he begged brokenly, "There's nothing more, sir. Please may I be excused?"

"Oh, I find that very doubtful," Snape said without sympathy. But, after a long pause, he finally relented and said quietly, "You may go." He put a small jar on the table in front of Harry as the boy stood up. "For your sore feet."


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: I told you it was an evil idea… oh, the angst, it's just soooo addicting! Well, hold onto your pointed hats, this one's a doosey._**

Chapter 2 - EM-E - Rewind - Part II

Harry stumbled out of the floo into the Gryffindor common room and came to a standstill, facing the very cold silence of an evening he'd already lived through once, and feeling far more alone than he had the last time. _Last time, I was only missing Sirius…_

His wild magic was humming warmly under his skin, but Harry only had an overwhelming urge to go to sleep to escape this new reality as he flopped down onto the sofa, turning the jar of Snape's balm in his hand and staring into empty space. His mind was reeling at the countless conquests and obstacles he'd already overcome. And now, he had to live through them again.

He had to kill Voldemort _again._

He had to go get the locket horcrux and destroy it _again._

He had to go get the diadem horcrux and destroy it _again._

He had to somehow get the Hufflepuff cup horcrux from the Black Family vault and destroy it.

He had to find out what the other horcrux was, and find it at the Gaunt family home and destroy it.

He had to kill Nagini, _after_ he destroyed the other inanimate horcruxes. At least, according to Dumbledore.

And then, he had to kill the horcrux in his scar… and hopefully survive that.

And, _oh Merlin,_ he had to get his Emancipation handled all over again.

In the meantime, Harry had to deal with… _a lot of loss._

On that unfathomable note, in which Harry's mind struggled to shut off completely, he jumped to his feet and began to pace. It was what, half seven? He had several hours to set a plan before events began to take hold. The question was, how in the world would he do all of this? And how much could he truly do by himself, this time around? He stopped, staring into the fire as he tried to decide what to make his priority. _Simple,_ he thought. _I need to be sure I get emancipated. I still have to worry about Dumbledore, and Severus for that matter, trying to force me to do things their way, when they don't have the full picture… And with no one really listening to me. _

The way Severus had.

_How will I go through that whole second interview with Rebecca Chase again?_ He thought about the letter Aunt Petunia would be sending him, either tonight or tomorrow, and wondered how to intercept it, before Hedwig got killed trying to deliver it. _Hopefully she's in the owlery, and Snape will get a warning to her._ It was far too risky to tell Snape any more on that matter, or ask him for help. He'd barely escaped a walloping last time Snape had found out about his petition for Emancipation. At that point, his professor had already been softening toward him, which was probably what had saved Harry's hide. This time, Snape was more hostile, and to Harry, whose survival instinct had kicked back into high gear, that made the potions master someone to avoid at all costs. It also made Lucius Malfoy someone to avoid. _Maybe_ Remus could be trusted, but he was currently on a mission for Dumbledore, if memory served. _We just had a full moon,_ so Remus would be healthy enough to be available to help later in the week. But… Harry also knew the wan older wizard would insist on telling Dumbledore anything that Harry revealed to him, so… that left Harry feeling alone again.

Tuning into the steady thrum of his wild magic, which he now knew how to read, he realized he at least had that much in his favor. He'd only just been discovering it on this night, the last time around. Harry now recollected that he'd escaped his nightmares from practicing summoning to a point of exhaustion. He closed his eyes and centered his awareness, first concentrating on the warm heat that felt like it was under his skin, and then picturing his heavy jacket at Privet Drive, where it would still be in the cupboard under the stairs. Now he imagined it appearing on the sofa. The magical expenditure of energy felt familiar as he sought to utilize that peripheral power, as Severus had referred to it. But Harry could also sense that he was not yet strong enough in his current physical state, and he was unable to summon the jacket. Summoning from such a distance was difficult. Severus had been impressed when he'd done it, which had said something. _Bugger. I've got to start building my power and strength up all over again as well._

Breaths heaving in and out of his chest as he stared at the fire in frustration, fingers still twirling the small glass jar in his hand, he gave into the fury that overtook him and he flung the jar into the fireplace, taking no satisfaction in the way it exploded and shattered, glass shards ricochetting back out and onto the hearth.

_"Why did this happen?"_ Harry yelled in a rage, voice cracking as a dry sob struggled up in his chest, but the weight of his burdens was too heavy to allow watery emotion to escape. He could barely stand up now, barely breathe, as he circled around the sofa and sank down to the floor, leaning his back against the back of the long piece of furniture, a paralyzing feeling of defeat overtaking him.

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Severus climbed the final owlery stairs and entered, combatting the darkness with a modified _lumos_ that hovered like a floating lantern, illuminating his path as he sought out the snowy white owl familiar of one Harry Potter. The light reflected off of the wide eyes of nearly thirty of the nocturnal creatures inhabiting the school's owl sanctuary, all turned dramatically toward him. He scanned the lot of them, not seeing the one belonging to the boy.

"I'm looking for Hedwig," he announced to the large assembly of birds. There were a few _hoots_ of annoyance, but no _HOOT_ to announce Hedwig's presence. Where was she?

He was not particularly happy to have to inform Potter that he'd failed to come through with his side of their agreement. He imagined that having the owl around would be a comfort for Potter, which could only benefit them both. He'd not been indifferent to the panic behind the boy's request, nor had he been unaffected by the things Potter had said, but the emotions behind the words had been far more dramatic than the snippets of "secrets" that were supposedly being revealed. Severus knew when he was being placated. Considering the recent events that were impacting Potter's state of mind, Severus had not been particularly moved. He'd seen memories of Potter's home life during their Occlumency lessons, and it was clear that the family enjoyed letting their nephew be the butt of jokes. That hardly was cause enough for the wards to fail. As for the confession that the Dursley patriarch thought Potter had been showing off his magic last summer, and was still angry about it… well, _try having to explain to the Dark Lord why exactly it is that you managed to allow Harry Potter to escape from his aunt's care, when it would have been the perfect opportunity to snatch him away._ Now _that _is a reason to feel angst, and something Severus expected to be summoned to explain to his other master at any time.

Taking back to the icy stairs, Severus rubbed unconsciously at the dark mark on his arm as he descended, and pondered his last encounter with the Dark Lord. It had been perilous. Severus was worried about Lucius. His friend had been laying low since the Ministry debacle had left them all, even Bella, at the mercy of a very angry megalomaniac. The dark lord was out of patience with them. And Severus was feeling more strongly than ever that he was ready to end his role as spy for the Order. The entire situation was so incongruously unstable, it was only a matter of time before Severus would be dying a ridiculous and meaningless death. Just as Black had.

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The tense potions master was pacing again. Back in his quarters, debating going up to tell Potter he'd missed his owl, Severus wanted to have a concession to offer. He had nothing in mind, as the idea of engaging the unruly teen any further left him feeling extreme resistance to making any unscheduled contact.

The floo flared green flames and Lucius Malfoy stepped through, haughty arrogance unimpaired in spite of Severus' fears that he'd suffered a cruel fate. The blond wizard took one look at Severus, blinked and raised an eyebrow of inquiry, then proceeded to summon the decanter of whiskey and a glass. He seated himself formally in Severus' leather armchair, looking exactly like the aristocrat he imagined himself to be. "And what, pray tell, is on your mind just now, Severus?" he asked, his pompous air intact as he took a fortifying sip of the amber alcohol.

Severus frowned at his friend. "I've been worrying about you, if you must know," he snarled. "Where in the bloody hell have you been, for Merlin's sake?"

"I have been maintaining close proximity to Cornelius," Lucius announced, smugly. "He finds me terribly trustworthy, you know. He's asked me to keep surveillance of the school during these holidays. It seems that even though Dumbledore is no longer residing at Hogwarts, he is fearful that Harry Potter would be hiding here… since the boy was not at his residence on Privet Drive late this afternoon, when Fudge made a personal call to the house."

"Fudge did _what?"_ Severus snapped. "Why on earth would he have done _that?"_ Severus' jaw was working as his already excessive ire bubbled more rapidly to the surface.

"I've no idea," Lucius said quietly, taking another sip. He looked up at Severus. "And not for lack of trying to find out, but the man was not inclined to share. He knows something, and he's acting very smug, and very confident."

Severus grabbed his own untouched glass from the mantle and took a healthy slug from it.

"Have you already given Potter a paddling?" Lucius asked with a touch of alarm from behind him, obviously seeing the wooden implement in its blatant display in the center of the mantle.

Severus took a fortifying breath. "A warning. That boy is going to be trouble. I've no doubt," he said, still not facing Lucius.

"How is he behaving?" the blond wanted to know.

"He has already pushed his luck," Severus said. "His circumstances are the most desperate yet, and _these_ are the times when he acts out. I wanted to be certain he understood the parameters."

"Hmmmmm," Lucius hummed, contemplating. "I would like to have an opportunity to speak with him, to offer him the gift I've planned for some time now."

"He will not likely be receptive," Severus said with a smirk, finally turning to face his friend. "You'll have to work rather harder than I imagine you'd want to, all so that you can offer to do him a favor that will supposedly appease your longstanding guilt."

Lucius narrowed his eyes at the surly dark haired wizard. "You might try it, sometime, old friend. I'm told making amends does have its merits."

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"Dobby!" Harry called out. He'd rousted himself from his catatonic state when an idea had occurred to him.

"Yes, Harry Potter?" the enthusiastic elf said as he _popped_ into sight. "Does Harry Potter need Dobby's help yet?"

"Yeah," Harry said, recollecting now that he'd already asked Dobby to carry letters for him. He held out a folded note. "Will you be able to take this to my aunt? They're not at Privet Drive now. They're at a safe house somewhere. Do you need to know where that is?"

Dobby's ears slowly moved back to lay flat on the sides of his head, matching the furrow of his eyebrow. "Dobby can try to find her for Harry Potter," he said uncertainly.

"Okay, that would be great. If you do find her, don't let her see you, though, alright?"

"Of course not," the elf said, somewhat affronted. "Dobby remembers the Magical Statutes of Elfen Law."

"Oh! Right," Harry said, hopeful his tone was appeasing. "Listen, I'm not letting Snape or Dumbledore know that I'm asking you for help, so try not to be seen by them. And Dobby, if you _can't_ find Aunt Petunia, then come back here and I'll have another letter for a different muggle, alright?" He bit his lip as the small creature took the note from him. "Be careful, alright? I don't want you to get into trouble over this, so come back if it's too difficult. I'll completely understand."

Harry suspected he could read doubt on the elf's odd countenance. But Dobby _popped_ away again, leaving Harry in the lonely silence of the Common room once more. He waited for an hour, but started to lose hope after that, and decided to practice his summoning again. After two more hours of mild success at getting his pillow to appear, intact, on the sofa, he attempted to cast nonverbally and failed miserably. Defeat hit him again, so he went to drown his sorrows in the privacy of the shower, in case Snape came up to check on him.

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Severus stepped out of the fireplace and onto the hearth in the Gryffindor common room, noting the crunch of glass beneath the soles of his boots as he stepped aside so that Lucius could follow. Severus knew _exactly_ where that shattered glass had come from, and knew that it had been shattered during a tantrum. _Ungrateful little wretch,_ he seethed.

_"Evanesco,"_ Lucius said in a low voice, directing his wand to vanish the glass shards while his eyes searched the room for Potter, already preparing himself for an unpleasant first encounter. "Might he already be in bed?"

"Perhaps," Severus growled, leading the way up the stairs to the fifth year boy's dorm room.

They entered to find Potter with his wand out, casting a shrinking charm on a large rugby shirt that had seen better days. The red and blue stripes were muted from many muggle washings, and there was an enormous blotch over the shoulder that lacked pigment altogether, probably a bleach stain. The boy had a few short stacks of neatly folded clothing, sorted by pants, trousers, shirts and jumpers, and collected on his bed. None of it was in particularly good shape. There was a large pile of mismatched socks, all of which had holes, and all of which were far too large for Potter's feet. On that thought, Severus glanced down at the boy's feet, seeing they were bare beneath the overly long and very ratty pajama bottoms he now wore. The blisters were still there, which reignited Severus' annoyance, but he was also noting the red blotchiness of Potter's complexion, his red rimmed eyes and red nose were visible in spite of the way he was keeping his head ducked down. He'd obviously shed recent tears, his wet hair suggesting he'd probably stood beneath the shower spray while he'd cried. A twinge of sympathy stirred in Severus' chest.

"Potter," he said quietly, "I was unable to locate your owl."

Harry's eyes darted up to his professor's and he failed to mask the heartbreak he was reliving, all the while knowing what awaited Hedwig early tomorrow morning. He was startled to see Lucius was there too, and realized he was supposed to act shocked and angry at the sight of him, but couldn't bring himself to do so. Instead he met the blond wizard's eyes for the briefest of instances and then turned his back to both of the older wizards, his breathing accelerating with his racing thoughts. Right now, he had to worry about keeping Snape from finding out about his petition, and keeping Hedwig from getting killed by a centaur's arrow.

"Surely you have a comment on the matter, Potter," Severus challenged, thinking that if the boy's defenses were down, he might be able to get more information out of him.

"Actually, I don't," Harry said, still not turning to face them. "I don't understand why you'd bring Mr. Malfoy here, or anywhere near me, for that matter. But it's not as if I would feel safe to _comment_ on it, or on anything at all. Dumbledore expects me to blindly trust you. But I don't. No more than I trust Dumbledore."

Lucius' eyebrows shot up and he looked like he was ready to make one of his off-beat comments until he met Severus' glare. He instead managed to look grim.

"Turn around," Severus commanded. He waited while the boy did as he was told, watching as Potter tossed the shirt he'd been holding onto the bed, but kept his wand in his hand. "Put. Your. Wand. Away. _Now."_

Harry knew he needn't fear that Lucius would hurt him, and he wasn't actually holding onto his wand to protect himself from either older wizard. But every defensive trigger that Snape had always known how to provoke had been set off in Harry, and he was ready to bang heads with this version of Severus. He hated this side of his professor, and he was damned if he was going to take any more abuse from him, or anyone else. He let that hatred come through as he glared at his former guardian. His wild magic hovered at the edge of his awareness, as he leaned forward to make sure he made himself clear, mimicking Snape's dramatic enunciation as he said, "I. Will. _Not._ I. Do. Not. _Trust._ You."

Incensed, Severus weighed the merits of pushing this further, realizing it could only end with Potter over his knee, and _that _was not likely to facilitate a more cooperative attitude from this little menace. Holding Potter's challenging glare he leaned forward as well, mimicking the boy's tone right back as he countered coldly, and yes, enunciating dramatically, "Nor. Do. I. Trust. _You._ But _I_ do not have my wand out, _do_ I?" He straightened back up, watching the angry teen struggle to process the situation. Potter was not stupid enough to think he could hold his own in a battle of wands, Severus knew this. But the willful boy was making some sort of point that was not registering with him. Severus folded his arms over his chest. "I'm waiting, Mr. Potter."

Harry was losing his nerve, and the tears he'd given into earlier were threatening to return. His hands were shaking as he slid his wand up into his sleeve, keeping his eyes averted from both of the adult wizards.

"Mr. Malfoy is here, Potter, because he has been asked by Minister Fudge to watch Hogwarts. To make sure you are not hidden away here," Severus said. When Potter's eyes darted up to his, there was a wariness mixed in with the underlying panic that had been coloring the boy's energy since he'd awoken him for dinner earlier in the evening.

"Yes, Harry," Lucius inserted, nodding his head minutely in silent greeting when Harry looked his way, "and while I realize you've only ever known me to be a menace and enemy, that is not truly the case."

Harry clenched his jaw, stifling the surge of recent memories when Lucius Malfoy had been extremely kind to him, and caring, and had risked his life to protect Harry more than once. Harry wisely stayed silent, allowing the adults to believe his struggles were based on a history they didn't know he'd already gotten over.

"Mr. Potter," Severus said, forcing a more moderate tone into his voice, "you could do us the courtesy of responding. These efforts are, after all, being done on your behalf."

"I'm afraid if I open my mouth, my sentiments wont be well received," Harry said, still not looking at either of them. But when Lucius snorted in amusement, he nearly let a smirk make its way to his face. _Bad idea, Harry,_ he warned himself. So, he clenched his jaw and waited.

"We need to be certain we are all understanding what is at stake, Harry," Lucius said. "I am playing a role, and am in the confidence of the Ministry because I've let Minister Fudge believe I share his desires for corrupted power." Lucius waited for a response, certainly a disdainful look of doubt? But the boy stayed silent, so he continued. "At the same time, I am hiding what I know about you from the Dark Lord. And I am supporting the work of the Order of the Phoenix through Severus and Albus Dumbledore. Understand?"

Harry nodded, then added as an afterthought, "Yes, sir." He looked up and caught Lucius giving Snape a look that said, _see? If you treat him with respect, he'll be respectful. _And again, he had to stifle the urge to smile.

"I found out from Minister Fudge today, Harry, that he'd paid a visit to Privet Drive later in the afternoon," Lucius went on.

_That _got Harry's attention. Had Fudge done that last time? "Why?" Harry asked, very unsettled.

"He wouldn't say," Lucius replied. "He's up to something."

"Yes," Severus chimed in, still managing to keep the _assault_ out of his tone, "and I believe you are also up to something, young man. I am asking you to be forthcoming. Much is at stake. _Lives_ are at stake, Potter."

Harry looked at him, and he could feel his raw misery paint itself all over his face. "I know that, Professor," he said, and his voice broke in spite of his efforts to hold it together. "It would help a lot if you would actually consider that _I know that._ I've been in this mess my whole bloody life!"

They were interrupted by a _pop_ and a whimper of surprise that sounded very much like Dobby, followed by another _pop._ And silence.

"Your little elfen fan club is another reason why I take issue with you being secretive," Severus said, not acknowledging the boy's outburst, because he'd again been unmoved. The words themselves had told him nothing, but the ongoing frantic undertone in Potter's behavior spoke volumes about what he was _not_ saying.


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: I'm loving that you are all on board with me. It's already been a blast to watch this story take on a life of its own. Thank you for reading! ~Enjoy _**

Chapter 3 - EM-E - Rewind - Part III

"Would you be willing to arrive here early in the morning, tomorrow?" Severus asked Lucius after they'd returned to his quarters. "I want to seek out Petunia Dursley for a more thorough chat."

"I will expect full disclosure of what you learn upon your return," Lucius said in an authoritative tone of voice that he knew would get under Severus' skin. When his friend shot a withering glare his way, he added, "I believe you've met your match with Harry Potter. He's just as stubborn as you are. Remember that, when you consider your options as you deal with him in the coming days."

Severus squared his shoulders, mouth pinching in displeasure at the unspoken observation. Lucius was the second one to suggest he could treat Potter better in recent times. "Speak your mind, Lucius," he challenged.

"I am not the most compassionate of wizards, Severus, but you are downright cold," Lucius said frankly. "Whatever it is that you hold against that boy is incredibly powerful. So much so, that you cannot seem to yield, even when he is clearly in a horrible, horrible state of mind."

_"I_ am in a horrible, horrible state of mind!" Severus blared. _"I do not want to do this any longer!_ I don't want to serve the Dark Lord! I don't want to spy for Albus, and I sure as _hell_ do not want to babysit that brat!"

Lucius' eyebrows shot upward, and his expression grew grim. "We are of the same mind, in that regard, Severus. However, I am not as put off by the boy as you seem to be. He should not be nursing his wounds in isolation."

Severus sighed, struggling to shake off the grip of rage that always overtook him when he sensed peril in the making. "I'm aware of that," he said through gritted teeth, "and I'm not as oblivious to Potter's distress as you seem to think. He is acting in desperation for reasons that are unclear at this time, and therefore I do not trust him. Perhaps when I have more answers, I will be able to show him more kindness."

_"Some_ kindness would go a long way," Lucius said. He clapped a hand on Severus' shoulder and stepped back over to the floo. "What time tomorrow?"

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Harry sat on his bed, gently massaging the bruise on his torso. It hurt when he moved in certain ways, and of course when he touched it, which for some reason he felt compelled to continue to do, as if to fully convince himself that this new scenario was not going to change. Staring at Dudley's shrunken clothes, Harry felt a burning rage that was so strong he was beginning to imagine he could see his peripheral magic coming through his pores. He shouldn't have to wear things that hadn't been bought for him, that had belonged to someone who hated him, and had hurt him, and taunted him. Every ounce of him wanted to scoop the tattered rags up and go burn them. But then he'd have nothing at all to wear, other than a couple of Weasley jumpers and his school uniform, and at the moment, dressing like a Hogwarts student made him feel even more trapped. He'd returned to this timeline about six hours ago, and already he'd fallen back into the survival mindset he'd adopted first term, as memories of horrible Occlumency induced headaches, and a bleeding hand after lines with a blood quill gripped him, making that abused blood within him boil. His skin crawled with the remembered violation and how he'd felt so ashamed that he had no one to turn to. The _Prophet_ had printed stories about him being a liar, friends had turned on him, Dumbledore had literally walked away from him, more than once, when he'd sought help. And Voldemort had plagued him with visions and hostile feelings that weren't his own.

As if the thought had made its way to the snake-faced monster, Harry's scar prickled. He rubbed it angrily, the heel of his hand knocking into his glasses and jamming them painfully into his face. He growled in frustration. _How am I going to do this?_ he asked himself yet again, now jumping to his feet to pace the floor area created by the circle of beds in the large room. There were so many setbacks… his poor vision, no Lucius-galleon, the diadem was somewhere in the ROR, the locket was at Grimmauld Place and that stinky Mundungus Fletcher could show up any time and get it first, the Hufflepuff cup was in Bellatrix Lestrange's possession… Harry remembered the encounter with her. She'd had the cup when she'd blasted him with the curse that had sent him back in time. Draco had said she'd told him she'd moved it to the Black Family vault from her private vault, but if she had done so, she wouldn't have been able to get to it without the other key carriers… _which means it's still in her personal vault. Good luck getting it from her._

His mind wandered over the events of the first few days of the new school term on the last timeline, and he realized all of the other things he had to re-do. His efforts to be friends with Draco had to be restarted. Wormtail had to be caught. Ron and Hermione would have to learn about all of the changes between him and… well… the way things were going so far, Harry couldn't believe he'd actually see that bond again between him and Snape.

Rattled by all of these agonizing thoughts, he'd been too distracted to find out what had happened when Dobby had tried to deliver the letter. "Dobby?" he called out.

"Yes, Harry Potter? Dobby is sorry to have shown himself! Dobby is worried because Harry Potter was talking to Dobby's old master. Master Malfoy is a cruel wizard, Harry Potter!"

"It's alright, Dobby, I promise, he's not as cruel these days." Harry said, but he really didn't have any desire to try to convince Dobby of anything about Lucius. Lucius had been vicious to all of his house elves, by his own admission, and it was his burden to atone for, not Harry's. "Did you have any luck finding Aunt Petunia?"

"Dobby is very sorry, but Dobby could not trace her," Dobby said, "Dobby has punished himself-"

"No!" Harry cried, dropping to his knees in front of his small friend. "No, don't punish yourself, Dobby! You are helping me so much, please don't hurt yourself." He put his hands on the elf's shoulders. "If you're going to be cruel to yourself, I won't ask for anything else."

That worked. The elf was instantly apologizing, promising Harry that he'd refrain from whacking himself around any further. Harry praised him in relief and handed him the note he'd written to Rebecca Chase, asking Dobby to leave it in plain sight on her desk in her cubicle at the London Child Protection Agency. Dobby popped out of sight and returned, happily declaring success, in a matter of minutes, but Harry was extremely nervous about how things would play out. What if in this timeline, Madam Chase had _not_ been suspicious of his treatment by the Dursleys? The letter admitting he had been mistreated and feared for his life in both worlds would open a can of worms he'd never be able to clean up.

Harry sat on his bed again, contemplating his resources for everything that needed to be accomplished. He had to strengthen his magic again, but now that he'd thought about it, last time around he'd killed Voldemort's corporeal body on the Saturday of this coming week, and after that, had been able to form the protective shield around himself…. And, he'd summoned his jacket on that Friday, with his wand. So, it was only a matter of days until he could feel more secure about protecting himself, if he worked hard on his magic.

His scar tingled again, more strongly this time.

_Bugger. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve._

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Severus stepped out of the floo and made his way quietly up to Potter's dorm, glad to see the lighting in the common room had been dimmed by the elves. That meant the boy had gone to bed for the night. He climbed the stairs soundlessly, but he needn't have bothered, because Potter was in the throes of a very violent night terror when he entered the bedchamber. The messy haired teen was thrashing restlessly on the bed, covers long since having toppled to the floor. Skinny legs dotted with an odd assortment of old bruises and scars protruded from bunched pajama bottoms that were still too big for his lean frame, in spite of the shrinking spells. Pale bare feet dappled with rough red rub marks that he'd refused to tend to earlier clenched and released their toes. The skin on his torso showed at the point above his waistband where his T-shirt and sweatshirt had ridden up as he twisted bodily in his sleep, allowing a quick peek at the shadow of a dark bruise residing there.

Now, Severus was concerned. Potter was emitting tortured moans and garbled words that were overridden by anguished sobs. He stepped over to the bed and leaned down to place his hand on the boy's head, the way Albus had once done to him when finding Severus in the same state. There was a short pause in Potter's movements, and then the boy startled into wakefulness, unfocused eyes filled with alarm, as he scrambled to sit up and crab crawl back against the headboard, drawing his knees up and looking away in shame.

"That must have been a powerful dream, Potter," Severus said quietly, straightening back up and taking a step backward to appease the boy's obvious desire for personal space. He watched Potter struggle to come fully awake as he took calming breaths, but he made no reply to Severus' comment. "Are you injured on your torso?" he asked carefully.

"It's just a bruise," Harry said in a dull voice, feeling the flame of humiliation light his face in a nice rosy glow. "I fall out of bed a lot." _It's not a lie,_ he reasoned.

"Why did you not heal your feet?" Severus asked, still speaking quietly and without his trademark disdain.

"I needed to throw something," Harry whispered. "The jar was in my hand. I didn't think."

"Why did you need to throw something?"

A twitch that in better times would have yielded a smile tugged at Harry's mouth as he recognized Severus' tactics for getting him to open up. But he wasn't ready to yield to them, and at the moment he didn't expect he'd ever be. "I know what you think of me, and my impulsive, selfish behavior, and this mess I'm currently in, Professor. You've made that very clear. So, I'll spare us both the awkward discussion about the poor choice I made when I decided to throw away a healing balm because I was upset about…"

"About what?" Severus asked, still calm, still quiet, and incredibly curious.

"About this _hell_ that is my _life!"_ Harry snapped, literally, unable to prevent the tirade that followed: "How would _you_ like to have a bloody maniac entering your mind? Sharing evil thoughts with you, and showing you the mean, cruel things he's gotten up to? To try to get through school while this is happening, and all the while, people are saying you're _lying_ about it! _Punishing_ you for lying about it! How would you like to be forced to stay with people who _hate_ you, and resent having you around? That's all I've _ever_ known, and I'm bloody _sick of it!"_

Alarm bells began to sound in Severus' conscience. He pulled the chair for Potter's desk closer to the bed and sat. "Is that why the wards failed, Potter?" he asked.

Harry groaned in frustration, feeling so utterly trapped, and desperate to keep a lid on things. _Why'd I open my bloody mouth? Stupid!_ he raged inwardly.

"Why will you not disclose the cause?" Severus asked, struggling to contain his frustration with the boy again, in spite of the rush of sympathy that came when Potter raised tearful eyes that were unable to focus on his. Where were his glasses? The pain in those eyes was difficult for Severus to witness. Very similar eyes had looked at him the same way from Lily's face, some twenty years ago, and the resulting tragedy had haunted him ever since.

Harry swiped at his tears, feeling helpless against the overwhelming desire to come clean to Severus, to end this feeling of being alone with everything. But he couldn't do that. He just couldn't. First of all, this conversation was taking place between him and Snape, not him and Severus. Snape would go ballistic if he knew the truth. Harry would have to see how things played out over the coming days before he made any attempts to admit to what he'd been through. So, he fell back on his own defensive tactics, and said, "I've already told you, I don't know why they failed. It's laughable to me that they ever held up in the first place. The Dursleys don't love me, and have never wanted me there. Nothing has changed, other than the fact that they're convinced I should have been sent to Azkaban for the Dementor incident."

Severus was not fooled by Potter's attempt to deflect his focus, and his anger resurfaced at the blatant avoidance of a complete answer from the boy, but he kept it in check for the moment. "They do not believe you when you explain?"

"We don't _talk,_ Professor," Harry said in frustration. He reached for his glasses and found them on the side table where he'd had to resume the years-old habit of leaving them, and put them on. "Think of it like this: imagine you and I trying to discuss something that makes us both tense." He cocked his head as if he could see the lightbulb coming on in Snape's head. "Yes. _Exactly._ There's really no point in trying. Like you, they've never wanted to listen to, or hear about, any sort of problem that I'm connected to."

Severus could not prevent the sneer from returning to his face. "You are walking on very thin ice, Mr. Potter," he said dangerously.

Harry shut his mouth, looking off to the side. He could see Snape standing, ready to explode, and shrank back a bit, as if there was any place to go to get away from the surly older wizard.

"Go back to sleep," Snape said coldly. He conjured a potion and another jar of balm in his hand and placed them on the side table. "Use them, and stop wallowing." He turned on his heel and left Harry alone. Again.

_Bastard._

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Severus was ready and waiting in his long brown coat over the black trousers, white linen shirt, and the scarf he'd used the previous day when he'd ventured into muggle suburbia. Lucius arrived right on time, smirking at Severus and wishing him luck with his quest. Severus narrowed his eyes, unable to lighten up with his friend.

"I tried again with the boy last night," he said, his tone still edged with undisguised unease over the way he'd left Potter with that withering comment late last night. _That was cruel of me._ He cleared his throat and finished his declaration, "There is a catastrophe in the making, and mark my words, when it shows itself, Potter will be in the center of it, and I'll be hard pressed not to strangle him." With that, he nodded at Lucius and flooed through Malfoy Manor to Spinner's End, where he exited out to the backyard to _apparate_ to Somerset and the rowhouse where the Dursleys were being kept under guard.

"I will leave whenever I see fit! I have time sensitive business in London!" Petunia Dursley could be heard screeching at someone just inside the entry of the row house. A calmer quieter voice suggested she was putting herself at risk, and that the Order was not able to escort her. "I do not want your escort services!" Petunia yelled over her shoulder as she slammed the front door and stamped down the three low stairs of the front stoop. She stopped short when she saw Severus, standing at the end of the walk and snickering at her poor choice of words. "You! What do you want?"

"I've come for answers, Petunia," Severus said condescendingly, stepping closer to her. A movement out of the corner of his eye distracted him and he turned to see Potter's owl land on the post of the neighbor's small garden wall. She _hooted_ at him. "Hedwig, Mr. Potter wanted to let you know it is too dangerous to fly through Hogwarts right now. Perhaps you can stay at The Burrow through the holidays?" The owl _hooted_ again, actually she _HOOTed_ again, clearly not pleased at this news. Severus turned to look at Petunia. "Do you have a letter for Potter?" he asked her.

"It's private!" she said nastily. "I wouldn't trust you to deliver it without reading it yourself."

"I assure you, I have no interest in reading your private correspondence with your nephew," he told her acidly. "I only wish to reassure his owl that I will get the letter to him. Unless, you'd prefer she hover here and hoot away, all hours of the day and night until you send it with her?"

Petunia glared hatefully at Severus. _"You and your freakish lot have interfered in our lives for the last time!"_ She tore up the letter and crunched it into the palm of her hand, turning on Hedwig. _"There! Go away, you stupid bird! There is no letter for Potter!"_

"If you have something important to say to the boy-" Severus started.

"I do: _tell him to stay away from us!"_ Petunia spat. _"Now get out of the way!"_ She darted around him and made her way down the street, walking very briskly toward the bus stop on the next block.

Severus watched her go, dumbfounded. What on earth had Potter done to set her off to such a degree? _He exists, Severus. He's magical, and he reminds her of losses she suffered when she was young because of magic. Just as you suffered losses that he reminds you of each, and every time you encounter him._ He turned to the snowy white owl again. "Mr. Potter is quite worried about your safety, so do be careful as you fly to stay with the Weasleys." Her responding _hoot_ sounded miffed to his ears, but she took off, presumably to do as she'd been told.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Well, there was nothing for it but to follow the angry muggle female. Severus had not climbed the ranks of the Dark Lord's confidence on charm alone. He'd proven himself to be exceptionally capable of ferreting out information. It was no trouble at all to cast a _notice-me-not_ charm on himself and simply follow Petunia onto the chartered bus for the ride to Downtown London.

Severus rode along for nearly two hours of brooding silence in which he contemplated what had just come to light. It certainly corroborated what Potter had tearfully exclaimed last night. _How would you like to be forced to stay with people who _hate_ you, and resent having you around? _Severus knew the boy had been including him in that statement.

_I don't hate him,_ Severus defended himself to his own condemning voice. _I cannot stand the sight of him, but I do not wish him ill._ He was quite certain these sentiments would not be particularly comforting to Potter.

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"Kreacher!" Harry called out as an idea struck him. He waited for a few moments. Nothing. "Kreacher, come. Now!"

There was a loud and ungraceful _POP_ and the withered old curmudgeonly elf appeared before Harry. "Kreacher is not thrilled to be called by the new master, and to a Gryffindor area of the school, of all things. Oh, how the mistress will wail when Kreacher tells her-"

"Enough," Harry said flatly. "I know you're unhappy, and I fully intend to leave you alone as much as I can, alright? But there is something I need you to do." He summoned his courage, not at all convinced this was a good idea. "Kreacher, there is a locket. A cursed locket that belonged to your dear Master Regulus. Do you know the locket I mean?"

Kreacher glared at Harry with open hostility. "The new boy master has no business with that locket. Kreacher was to keep it for his master-"

"Kreacher, I know about the evil it contains, and I'm going to put it in a safe place where no one can be hurt by it," Harry told him earnestly. "If you don't give it to me, Mundungus Fletcher will probably steal it. I think he's likely to come to the house to try to take things, and if he does, I want you to come tell me, alright?"

"Kreacher understands," was the grouchy and altogether insincere reply.

"I'll really appreciate your help," Harry said. "Maybe, if you'd like, I can ask to have a locket made for you that looks just like it? To take its place?" The idea had suddenly come to him and Harry offered it with genuine intention to appease the disgruntled and heartbroken elf.

The aged and shriveled elf's ears went back and his face softened ever so slightly. "Kreacher would like that. He misses getting to look at the locket."

"Then, I'll get one made for you right away. I promise," Harry said. "And, if you want to try to make the house a little bit nicer, that would be alright, too, you know." Harry said. The look he got from the elf after that suggestion told him not to push his luck any further. "Fine, er, whatever makes you happy. So… I don't want you to bring the locket yet, not until I can get to the place I want to keep it. Just be ready to bring it when I call for you. It may be a few days. But, like I said, if Mundungus shows up, come tell me, alright?"

"Kreacher understands."

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When the bus delivered its passengers to their destination, Severus kept a close tail on Petunia, following her to the Offices of Montegue Morris, Esquire, and standing by as she waited to be called into the small private meeting room. He followed her in, again standing by as she ranted alarming information about a meddling woman named Rebecca Chase and how Mr. Morris had better reign her in, and why had she even been included in the first place? This had been a private family decision! Severus struggled to decipher the unspoken clues to this melodrama, until Petunia finally screetched, "_We don't want him! Get him the damned Emancipation status, or make him a ward of the state. I'm finished with him!"_

"Now, Mrs. Dursley, please control yourself," Morris was saying, in a calming tone, although he was clearly alarmed at the viciousness behind Petunia's outburst. "Perhaps you could elaborate as to why you want to relinquish custody of him so abruptly? It's only just over a month until he'd be legally independent of you, and I was understanding he would be away at school until then?"

Severus felt the passage of time and the room's occupants come to a standstill as his mind reeled. _Emancipation?_ He actually waited for the explosive rage to rise within him, but snippets of the boy's desperation filtered back into his memory, and suddenly made appalling sense. Harry Potter was trying to free himself from his aunt's custody... _and therefore from Albus Dumbledore's control._ What had happened that had made the boy turn on Albus so dramatically?

"You don't understand!" Petunia was sputtering unpleasantly. "He is a little criminal! He brings danger and violence into our home! Last summer, some of his friends showed up and attacked my son! Dudley is still having nightmares!"

"Why don't you report him to the authorities, then, Madam?" Severus demanded, the anticipated rage now exploding _on Potter's behalf_ as he released himself from the _notice-me-not_ charm and scared the dickens out of the shrill woman and her solicitor. "Or do you know damned well that if investigated, the fault would prove to be _with you."_ More clarity came to Severus as he pictured the disheveled wardrobe Potter always wore that was way too large for his small frame. They were cast-offs from his oversized cousin.

"I beg your pardon!" Montegue Morris sputtered.

"This woman is lying about Mr. Potter's character," Severus said severely. "If he needs a guardian for the interim before he receives a formal Emancipation, then I am willing to act as such."

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Harry's scar was bothering him again. A lot. He was getting nervous. Something was going to happen. He remembered suddenly that Lucius had announced that Fudge had visited Privet Drive yesterday. Again, he wondered if the Minister of Magic had done so in the previous timeline. This was likely when Fudge had gotten some sort of word that Harry was trying to become emancipated in the muggle world. He couldn't remember if he'd sensed this same thing the other time he lived through this Christmas Eve day.

His grief for Sirius was buried so far below all of the other trauma, he truly wondered if he would break under the weight of it all.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Lucius gasped as he felt a very intense burning on his arm. He was currently on the grounds of Hogwarts, hiking down the hill in the vicinity of Hagrid's hut. He was too far away to warn the Potter boy in person that he'd be leaving the school, and to stay put. He cast his stallion _patronus, _silently attaching his message for Harry: _I've been called to the Dark Lord. Severus is away from the school. Stay in your dorm. Ask Dobby to help watch for intruders. Stay safe, Harry._

The mark on his arm seemed to be trying to scorch him. This was not good. He jogged down the remaining distance to the gates, stepped outside, and availed himself to disapparate to the undisclosed location, where the Dark Lord awaited him.


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: Here's a nice long update to compensate for the fact that I'm pretty sure I won't be able to update again for at least a week. But not to worry, I'll pick up the pace again at that point! _Enjoy!**

Chapter 4 - EM-E - Altered State - Part I

Harry paced back and forth in his common room. The Marauder's Map was spread out on the sofa for him to keep his own surveillance of the school, stopping every once in a while to look for Snape's return. He didn't really know what he should tell the older wizard about what he was sensing, and could already imagine the sneering response he would get when he asked after Lucius. But Harry couldn't help it. Lucius hadn't yet earned his friendship on this timeline, but that didn't mean that Harry no longer knew him to be a better wizard now. Knowing the arrogant Sr. Malfoy was in real trouble was only adding to Harry's insurmountable agitation. His scar had been burning, and angry feelings that weren't his own had been seeping into his awareness all morning. _As if I don't have enough anger of my own._

He stopped to check the map again and saw that his former guardian had finally returned to in his quarters. Not entirely relieved at the sight, Harry hesitated, watching the animated movements of Severus' name. He could tell the potions master had begun to pace as well. _Probably worried about Lucius too…_ Should he chance it?

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Severus looked up in surprise but quickly narrowed his eyes at the sight of Potter stumbling out of his fireplace.

"Professor!" Harry started, but stopped at the expression on Snape's face.

"You and I need to have a discussion," Severus said slowly, allowing his frustration with the boy's ongoing deception to add a dangerous edge to his tone. It had the desired effect because Potter gulped audibly, and took a step backward. Severus took in the sight of him, messy hair, baggy and disheveled clothing that looked dirty by virtue of the dullness of the colors, wire framed glasses that were the exact style that James had favored, and that now-constant expression of desperation. "Sit down," Severus directed, pointing at the sofa. When Potter hesitated, clearly feeling more compelled to linger near the escape route the fireplace provided, Severus added severely, _"Now."_

Harry obeyed, realizing he'd been a fool to come down here, and feeling like he'd walked right into the enemy's lair. He sat rigidly on the sofa, warily watching Snape as he circled around to face him.

"You have been _lying_ to me, boy," Severus said fiercely. He watched the confusion flash over Potter's infuriating countenance, which only increased his blood pressure, which drove his temper closer to erupting.

"I haven't said anything that wasn't true, sir," Harry declared, hating being called _boy_, as much as he hated this tone in Snape's voice. Something had happened. His stomach clenched painfully. His wild magic began to pulse. Survival instincts were kicking in.

"You have lied by omission of fact, then," Severus confirmed. "And I will not tolerate this from you, at all, going forward. Do. You. Understand?" He stepped over to the mantle and took the paddle in hand. He kept his eyes on Potter and saw the boy blanch, his breathing accelerating significantly. "Calm yourself," he said tauntingly. "You needn't fear my using this on you, if you simply answer me truthfully."

For Harry, Snape might as well have just announced that all hope was lost. If Snape started trying to beat the truth out of him… _Anything I say could change the future. People I love could be killed. I have to keep my mouth shut. But if he does this…I'll never get over it._ The feeling of his heart breaking caused a huge surge of sorrow to wash over him and he had to duck his head to hide his anguish from his unsympathetic potions professor.

"First question," Severus began with satisfaction, having witnessed Potter's reaction to his overt threat, and assuming he'd finally induced the boy to spill his secrets. "Why did you lie about not knowing what had caused the wards at Private Drive to fail?"

Harry's anger kicked in at that. He was so bloody sick of being accused of things that weren't his fault. "I wasn't lying!" he said forcefully. Snape took a step towards him and Harry reared back, only just stopping his arms from raising to cover his head and face. "I don't know why they failed!"

Severus glared down at the idiot boy, leaning forward threateningly. Perhaps Potter really did not understand the definition of lying? "You filed a _petition for Emancipation,_ Potter, that legal action in itself made an irreversible magical declaration that you did not consider your aunt's home to be your own!"

Wait… _what? Snape knew already? How could he know?_ "But it isn't final," Harry said, scrambling to comprehend that Snape had somehow found this out without intercepting Aunt Petunia's letter. His voice cracked under the strain of trying to manage this unexpected turn of events, on top of the secrets he'd brought back from the future and couldn't share, when he protested, "I'm still in their custody, so the wards shouldn't have broken!"

Severus blinked at that, straightening up, as he contemplated Potter's strategy behind all of this nonsense. "Your aunt signed away her guardianship when she acknowledged your petition."

"She didn't sign anything that I could see," Harry said in confusion, struggling to stop the way his breaths were hitching in his chest like a frightened toddler, and feeling no comfort from the warm presence of his wild magic. It couldn't save him from the way he was feeling.

"But she did," Severus said, realizing the boy was speaking truthfully, at least in this regard. "In order for your petition to be granted, she had to legally relinquish custody of you."

"That was only supposed to happen when the Emancipation went through. What if my petition gets denied?" Harry asked. He was sitting at an odd angle, leaning away from Snape, and feeling an incredible need to flee. This information was treading within the realm of his deepest, most desperately kept secrets that had nothing to do with Voldemort, or bonding with Severus, or the _dream team_, or anything. Snape was telling Harry what he'd always known, but it had never been made so _blatantly_ official as now: His aunt truly hated him. Last time, he'd thought her threats in the letter were just that, _threats._ But she'd already signed him away. _That_ was why the wards had failed.

Potter looked like he was going to vomit. Severus waited while the boy wrestled with this information, and could see that it was doing a lot more damage than seemed reasonable. _Moving on,_ he thought impatiently. He was determined to lift the veil over all of this agitated angst Potter was oozing into Severus' living space. "Now, I next want you to explain to me why you've stopped trusting Headmaster Dumbledore."

Harry's chin was quivering, so he kept his head down. This wasn't something he wanted to discuss, either, but he dreaded being paddled even more. "Because he turned on me," Harry said defensively, and feeling every bit like the big zero he apparently was in Snape's eyes. _I was right all along. I don't matter._

"How did he turn on you?" Severus asked, impatiently.

_Déja-vous... I've already done this. _"He left me _alone_ with the Dursleys last summer! After everything that had happened in the graveyard!" Harry yelled roughly. "I was going spare, wondering if everyone else was alright, and having _horrible_ dreams and visions, seeing what Vol- what _Riddle_ was up to!" He rubbed at the agitating tingle in his scar, wanting to stop there, but finding himself unable to stem the rant that was following, _"I needed to tell this stuff to someone who gave a damn! _But Dumbledore just left me in the muggle world with no answers, and didn't explain why I couldn't get answers from anyone else! Even when I had to go to trial, he waited until the last possible minute to come help, and then left without talking to me after. I found out from Ron and Hermione that he'd told them not to tell me anything about the Order. They thought he was monitoring their letters, so they didn't. So I figured he was angry with me for letting Riddle get resurrected. When I got back to school, I tried to apologize. But he turned his back on me and walked away. I didn't know what to do!"

"So you decided to take matters into your own hands?" Severus asked, and his tone was still unsympathetic. Potter was withholding more, he could tell, and he was itching to force it out of the boy. "To just go and throw away years of an organized effort to protect you?"

"I never knew there was a protection detail on me!" Harry railed in frustration. "Why would _that_ need to be kept a secret from me?" When his professor's expression turned condescending Harry responded with as hateful a glare as he could muster. _There he goes again, assuming I know nothing._ "If there was really someone always watching, why didn't they _see_ anything?" His voice cracked with that, but he continued to glare.

"What should they have seen, Potter?"

Harry took a shaky breath, realizing that in Snape's eyes, he was coming across like a needy, helpless child who was overdramatizing his discontent with his circumstances. He shook his head. _I'm not doing this again with him. _"I filed for Emancipation because I wanted to be on my own, Professor. Whether you want to believe it or not, I felt like I was in danger, in spite of the _organized efforts."_

"Why didn't you discuss this with anyone in the wizarding world, Potter?" Severus asked dangerously, sensing the infuriating boy was erecting walls to hide behind again.

_"I just told you that I tried to!" _Harry seethed. "You don't know what my life has been like! You have no bloody idea!"

"Well, then, do tell, Mr. Potter."

Harry flashed a look at Snape. The older wizard was turning the paddle in his hands, directing a suspicious, narrowed eyed glare at him. Harry couldn't bear to wonder what was going through the potion master's mind. His voice was tight with strain when he finally answered. "I feel like Professor Dumbledore has a plan, and that I'm a player on his chessboard. He needed me to stay at the Dursleys, out of the way, while he's worked things along. And now he's upset because I've ruined his plan. But his plan was going to get ruined anyway, because I wasn't safe with them, or anywhere else." His voice was getting louder and more emphatic as he continued, "And I know a lot more about what's at stake than anyone realizes. I'm finished letting people who don't know what I'm up against make decisions on my behalf. I'm trying to _survive."_ That last word came out loudly in an enraged growl.

"You are testing my patience by claiming that you are not safe anywhere," Severus said severely. "There are _teams_ of wizards dedicated to watching over you, both on Private Drive and while you are at school."

"I guess we have different definitions of what _safe_ means then," Harry said bitterly, still louder than he probably should have.

Severus glared at Potter for a long stretch of time. So far, the boy had not revealed anything that sounded completely genuine, but rather it all had sounded manufactured and pre-rehersed. And yet, Severus' mind flashed to the previous day, when he'd healed the purple knot on Potter's forehead, which the boy had been less than forthcoming about explaining. He also recalled the bruise on his torso, along with the other random marks on his legs, that he'd seen last night. He then replayed the vitriol in Petunia's rant about Potter earlier, and reminded himself that he could by no stretch of his imagination conclude that she had taken good care of her nephew. As for Albus, the boy's sentiments were actually a rather simplified version of his own. Albus _did _have a master plan, and each of those who thought himself to matter to the old coot often found himself questioning that conviction somewhere along the line. Perhaps Potter had done himself a service by seeking independence. _Perhaps._

A jolt of pain ripped through Harry's scar. He pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. "Professor, have you heard from Mr. Malfoy? He got called to Vol-"

_"Do not say his name!"_

"I'm sorry!" Harry said angrily, and somewhat insincerely, considering how sick he was of Snape's waspish tone. "I forgot! I'm in the habit of saying it because _Dumbledore_ always encourages it! Who do you want me to bloody listen to? You or him?"

"As I am your legal guardian now," Severus informed the enraged teen. "You will listen to, _and obey,_ me."

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Harry shot his eyes up involuntarily, a huge lump of anguish in his throat. This was supposed to be a _good_ thing. He wanted to be happy about it, the way he'd been before. Why had fate turned on him? Again? He gulped, unable to believe things were so dramatically different now.

"Stand up," Snape demanded.

Harry didn't need a map to see where this was going. Already leaning away from the older wizard, Harry literally scooted further over on the sofa, but Snape took a step towards him. Harry's wild magic surfaced, along with his instincts to get himself away from what for some fifteen year-olds would simply be a humiliating experience, but for Harry, it would erase all hope of ever trusting Severus again. When Snape reached out to grab his arm…

Harry removed himself from the room, without even so much as a muffled _pop._

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Severus was stunned. Had the boy just _disapparated?_ Impossible! No one could do so inside the castle or the grounds without the aid of extremely strong, atypical magic, the likes of which was only possessed by elves, or phoenix familiars such as Fawkes.

And where in the hell had he gone to?

Quickly reviewing all that Potter had just told him, what had come across the most forcefully was his claim to be trying to survive. So where would he have gone to? Where he would feel safe? And what would stop him from disappearing again if Severus found him?

He was at an utter loss.

The fireplace roared to life with the green flames of the floo network. Lucius stepped through, looking like the wrath of Merlin. Severus stepped over to take his arm to support him, but his friend shook his head violently.

"I need your potion, Severus," Lucius rasped. It was clear he'd suffered the Dark Lord's fury under the _cruciatus_ curse, the effects of which tended to linger indefinitely, leaving the recipient's nerve endings very sensitive to the touch, sometimes for days on end. It was uncomfortable to lie down or sit, and most tended to stay on their feet as much as possible, battling horrible exhaustion and discomfort.

_Potter had been aware that Lucius was in peril,_ Severus reflected as he conjured three vials and handed the first to the blond wizard, waiting while Lucius shakily lifted the dose to his lips. Severus repeated the gesture until all three parts of the potion had been ingested and the two of them waited the few critical moments it needed to take effect.

"You left without a message to me," Severus said, frowning as he watched his friend struggle.

"I feared you'd be among muggles. I attempted to send a _patronus_ to Albus, but I'm not certain it was strong enough. The Dark Lord was in quite a temper. I've never yet felt such pain through my mark," Lucius admitted. "Did the boy stay hidden?"

"I believe so, but I just had a confrontation with him that ended in him _disapparating_ from sight."

Lucius gaped at him. "He did what, now?" he asked.

Severus sighed. "I've discovered some troubling information about him, and what he's been up to," he gestured for Lucius to take a seat in the armchair and began to pace again.

"Should we not search for him?" Lucius asked, though they both knew he'd be of little use in that regard.

"I wouldn't know where to begin, other than Headquarters," Severus admitted. "If he actually survived what he just attempted, he'll only do it again when I show up." He sat on the sofa opposite his friend. "I let him think I was going to punish him, and that was that." Severus reviewed the facts as he knew them with Lucius, finishing with, "Potter admitted to his reasons for filing the petition, and that he'd given up on trusting Albus to protect him, but it is very clear to me that he's hiding much, much more. If it's anywhere near as destabilizing as these recent activities have been, I can only fear for us all."

Lucius was frowning now. "All I ever hear from Draco is that Potter is Albus' _little pet,"_ he said, doing a rather admirable impression of his son. "How could Harry be claiming otherwise?"

"Apparently things have been difficult since the graveyard incident last summer," Severus replied. "Even Albus admitted to me that he'd abandoned Potter this term, so the boy's claims have merit. And I am aware that Dolores Umbridge targeted him repeatedly."

"Yes, Draco also told me the same," Lucius said. "Her detentions involved some activity that resulted in physical suffering."

Severus raised an eyebrow. He'd not been made aware of this. He was certain that if any of his Slytherins had suffered at her hand, he would have had complaints from parents, ironic as that could be, considering the parents of Slytherins were particularly fond of corporal punishment in general. But most parents in this school wanted to deal out physical punishments themselves.

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Harry stood in the middle of the parlor at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, eyes wide as saucers, heart hammering so loudly in his chest he was surprised he couldn't see it bouncing beneath his jumper. He couldn't believe he'd just done what he'd just done. And what had that been, exactly? He hadn't _disapparated._ He knew the difference between the types of magic that had to be engaged. He didn't even know what to call his disappearing act. His stomach was so tense from dread over what was going to happen to him now, his knees were buckling. He went over to the sofa and collapsed, and as his heartbeat struggled to level out, the intense and very familiar exhaustion from depleting his magic set in. Harry was unable to find the strength to do much more than lean back and stare at the ceiling while tears streamed from his eyes.

Wishing he could pass out and forget reality through the escape of heavy slumber, Harry unfortunately realized that anyone in the Order could show up, any time, for whatever reason, possibly even to look for him, if Snape had alerted anyone about what had happened. What a mess! Should he just go back to Hogwarts and save all of those people the worry? The thought brought back the paralyzing dread again and he had to force himself to take slow, deep breaths to compensate. But then he had a thought….

"Kreacher," he called out.

"Oh, the young master has turned up, what does he want from Kreacher?" the shriveled old elf muttered in the mode of externalizing his internal monologue, as per usual, as he hobbled into the room.

"Kreacher, please fetch me that locket. _Please,"_ Harry requested. "It's a good time for me to take it and hide it."

"Kreacher's young master is very foolish to-"

"I know what it is, and I know what it will take to destroy it," Harry interrupted. "Please just bring it!"

Kreacher grumbled crabbily, but _POPPED_ ungainfully away, returning within a minute with the locket. Harry immediately heard a high pitched whistle, the likes of which could drive anyone mad if he had to hear it for too long.

"Thanks," Harry said. He looked around and saw a set of runes in a leather sack sitting on one of the bookshelves. He dumped the runes out and used the tip of his wand to hook under the chain of the locket and put it into the bag without touching it. "Kreacher, do you suppose you could take me back to Hogwarts?"

"Kreacher thought the new young master was going to gift him with a new locket. Kreacher has been fooled into helping-"

"I swear to you, I'll get you a duplicate," Harry said earnestly. "I can't do it on my own. I'm going to ask Remus Lupin to help me, but he's on a mission, isn't he? I don't think he'll be back until Friday. When I next see him, I'm going to ask for his help." Harry waited for the elf to reply but the craggy little creature continued to give him a disgruntled glare. "Alright, I guess I'll have to ask my other elf friend to help me," Harry said with feigned disappointment.

"Kreacher will assist his new young master."

Harry smiled tightly, wishing he could effuse a little more warmth, but he was too messed up. "I'm really glad I can count on you, Kreacher. You have no idea how important this is. Can you take me to my common room? Right to where you came to last night?"

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There was a rap on Severus' door. He used his wand to open it, keeping his pacing uninterrupted while Lucius continued to convalesce in the leather armchair.

Remus Lupin walked in, frowning in concern, still looking as disheveled and weighted down with grief as previously. He looked at the two of them. "I got your _patronus,_ Severus. Why did you ask me not to inform Albus that I was aborting my mission?"

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Kreacher delivered Harry to his common room and Harry thanked him, saying he'd call for him when the new locket was ready, and to not feel bad if it took at least a week. The elf nodded skeptically and _POPPED_ away, but Harry felt like he might have just forged a reluctant alliance with his inherited elf.

Harry was hard pressed to stay on his feet, and was actually swaying unstably as he called, "Dobby?"

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"First of all, Lupin, before I respond," Severus said tersely, "you should know that I have, as of today, become Harry Potter's legal guardian."

Lupin gaped at him, and then his eyes narrowed and the strain on his usually congenial expression deepened. "That cannot be a good idea, Severus."

"Actually, it was my only recourse," Severus said dangerously, "and do not assume you know my motivations, wolf."

Lupin was openly glaring at him now. "How did this come to be?"

"I went to speak to Petunia Dursley, and found that she'd vehemently relinquished custody of Potter yesterday, when the two of them had seen a solicitor _to petition for legal Emancipation_ for Potter," Severus informed his former schoolmate, frustration at the entrapping circumstances in which he now found himself enhancing the bitterness in his speech. The werewolf's eyebrows shot upward and his mouth dropped open. "The boy considers himself to be at risk for degrees of danger he has yet to elaborate upon, but he openly declared he no longer trusts the Headmaster, and considering the information that I have thus far gathered, I am as of yet unwilling to reveal his secret to Albus. I begrudgingly admit it, but it is Potter's perception that he is but a player in a performance of Albus' design. This is not unlike my own perspective."

Remus blinked, considering Severus' words, and rather taken aback to hear them aloud, being that he'd often had the same thought, but had squelched it beneath his loyalty to Albus, and his trust that the elderly wizard was the only one alive with enough power to rid them of Voldemort.

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"Open," Harry said tiredly, hoping he was speaking in _parseltongue,_ as he stared at the snake-shaped fixture, grouchiness seeping upward through the arm of the hand that held the bag containing the locket. He stood by as the sink in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom separated from the wall and began to open the chute-like entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. When it was wide enough to do so, Harry tossed the bag down the chute. "Close!" he said quickly, reacting to a rush of adrenaline that hit when he released the bag.

Harry had already decided that he couldn't destroy any horcruxes until he'd killed Voldemort's corporeal body again. He wasn't at all convinced that the evil megalomaniac would be unaware as each one was destroyed. Remembering the power that second year Ravenclaw Thora Breckin had had when she'd donned the heirloom diadem, Harry began to shake at the thought of facing Voldemort again, let alone all of the bloody horcruxes.

He turned wearily to Dobby. "Alright, back to the common room and then I'm set."

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"How did Harry respond to the news that you're his guardian?" Lupin asked with a knowing tone, already angry on the boy's behalf.

"Exactly as you'd imagine," Severus replied, attempting nonchalance. "I'd only just announced it, when he up and left the room." He could hear Lucius' quiet snort behind him, but he was not ready to admit the afternoon's incidents to the wolf. "Would you be willing to move into your quarters here earlier than planned?" he asked, and yes, he'd managed to sound congenial, at least to his own ears. "Lucius was earlier called to the Dark Lord, and I expect that my turn will come shortly. We need another presence here to conceal Potter from Minister Fudge, if we two are called simultaneously."

Lupin was nodding his head. "I'll go fetch my things now, and will return by late evening," he said. "Are you going to object if I want to spend time with Harry? Tomorrow is Christmas, after all."

"I have yet to make any demands of him other than explanations for his behavior and his presence for dinner each evening. He will need to complete his holiday assignments, of course." Severus said. Realizations were surfacing as he spoke. He'd not yet given any thought to the best means for keeping Potter in line. What he ought to do was assign the boy tasks to keep him occupied and therefore out of trouble. As an afterthought he added snidely, "This is all subject to change, if he tests me further."

Lupin held Severus' look with narrowed eyes again. The wan wizard was not fooled by any means, but he was smart enough to pick his battles at the moment. "I will return tonight then," he said, nodding to both Severus and Lucius. "Call on me if you need me to come sooner."

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Severus stepped through the floo into the Gryffindor common room, hoping beyond hope to find the wretched teen had ended up here. There were no real signs of life, so he headed towards the stairs to check the dorm, when his peripheral vision registered outstretched legs sprawled on the floor behind the sofa. Eyebrows furrowing with genuine concern, he swept around to find the boy sitting as though he'd slid down and collapsed, tilting somewhat to the side, eyes closed, cheeks wet with recent tear tracks, nose red and the hitched breathing of someone who had recently bawled uncontrollably.

Now it was Severus' stomach that plunged as he realized just how wrong this had all gone. And still, not a lick of it made sense. He'd set out to get answers from Potter, and depending upon what he'd found out, had intended to set new ground rules for the coming weeks while he decided how to handle the issue of the petition for Emancipation. Petunia Dursley had proven herself to be quite a hostile creature, and quite frankly, if Potter had been on the receiving end of her brand of hostility on any kind of regular basis growing up, it was a wonder the boy had any capacity for civil discourse whatsoever.

And now, whatever was bothering The Boy Who Lived was showing itself to have resulted in deep hurt. Severus wished he understood what was behind it, so that he could avoid antagonizing Potter any more than necessary. Yes, he could admit he was being a bastard to Harry Potter, and that he'd pushed too hard today. Potter had clearly assumed he had been about to be punished, which had not been the actual case, although Severus had taken pleasure in letting Potter believe so for a few brief moments of satisfaction, which now seemed to have been a terribly foolish tactic. The results could have been tragic. He crouched in front of the boy.

"Potter," Severus said calmly. The boy's eyes struggled to open. "Potter, are you hurt?"

"Nnnn," Harry struggled to form words. "Weak."

"Have you depleted your magic?" Severus asked, relief shooting through his stunned veins. He felt his chest open up slightly for the first time in days.

"Uhn."

Severus conjured a magic replenishing potion and pressed the vial to the boy's lips, having to cup the back of Potter's head to help him swallow it all down. Within moments awareness returned to the teen, but he was still exhausted and weak. "I'm going to lift you to your feet, do not fight me. I will not hurt you," Severus said calmly. He put a hand under each of Potter's upper arms and lifted him up as he rose to his own feet. When they were both standing, he scooped the scrawny son of his age-old arch nemesis up into his arms, carried him up to his dorm and placed him on his bed. "Open your eyes and look at me," he commanded, still using a moderate tone. The boy obeyed and Severus was struck by the level of misery he saw there. He was careful when he said, "Do not do that again. You've made your point. We will have to try to communicate more carefully in the future. Understood?" Severus received an affirmative nod and then heavy lids fell over Potter's eyes once again. He carefully removed Potter's glasses and put them on the side table. Then his shoes. He spread a warm coverlet from the foot of the bed over the boy, for good measure. "I'll come back to see if you are strong enough for dinner. It's half three now. We'll eat at seven tonight to give you more time to rest." He turned to leave the room, surprised when he heard a verbal response.

"Yes, sir."


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: My people, I apologize for the long wait. It hurt me far more than it hurt you. And that's the truth! Hope this compensates. ;-)_**

Chapter 5 - EM-E - Altered State - Part II

Severus returned at seven o'clock to find The Boy Who Lived in deep slumber. Potter appeared to not have moved at all, and Severus supposed this was probably as healing for him emotionally as it was physically, considering the nightmare from the previous night. He stood looking down at Potter for a few minutes, wondering _what_ it was that was so _off_ with him…what had the young wizard so distressed? He acknowledged that he'd made his own task of getting the truth out of the boy far more difficult by being so harsh and critical in their conversations. Potter had revealed enough at this point that Severus knew the teen had felt betrayed by Albus, to such an extent that he'd sought the legal right to refuse the elderly wizard's directives.

He also wondered what had truly frightened Potter enough to _disapparate_ earlier. Surely he had not feared the pain of a spanking. The boy had suffered the Dark Lord's _cruciatus_ curse, for Merlin's sake and seemed to have come away from the experience unscathed enough that Severus was convinced he had a very high pain threshold. _Thus far, I've healed scratches and bruises on him,_ Severus recalled. _He's certainly used to knocks and minor hurts._ So, what had bothered the boy so much that he'd magically transported himself to safety? He suddenly replayed his assessment of Potter's hands when they'd stood on the lawn at Private Drive that night, nearly a week prior, after the Ministry debacle. He'd seen a scar on the boy's left hand. It had been rough and raised, and in the dim evening light had almost looked like handwriting.

Severus carefully pulled back the coverlet from Potter's left side and lifted the boy's hand for a moment to have a look. _I must not tell lies._ Hmmmm. _So I'm not the only one who finds this to be a problem,_ he thought ironically, but even still, he was alarmed by the scar, suspecting he knew exactly how Potter had acquired it.

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Harry turned off the tap in the shower and grabbed his towel, still feeling shaky and a bit weak. _I probably need to eat, _he thought distractedly. He wondered what Snape would have to say about his missing dinner. It was now nine o'clock. Harry had woken up still feeling groggy, but wanting to rise for a while. The shower was the safest place for him to be sure he'd have privacy, and so he'd stood under the spray, staring dully at the stripe of tiles with the gold Gryffindor crest embellished upon them. After about twenty minutes, he'd turned off the shower, not feeling a whole lot better. _Maybe I'll just go back to sleep_. He could at least admit that he was grateful to have a choice about it.

He stepped out of the tiled enclosure, drying off quickly and reaching for his clothes._ Bugger!_ No shirt. Scowling at himself in the mirror, he ran his hands through his wet hair, attempting to tame it, but gave up like he always did after only a moment.

"Mr. Potter," Snape startled Harry as he returned to his dorm room bare chested, shivering from the chill and grumbling to himself about his absent-mindedness. He looked up at his stern professor and saw that the man was staring at his torso, and the familiar plummeting doom settled in his stomach.

"That bruise..." Severus started, a slow dawning coming over him.

"It's not healing very well," Harry admitted dismissively, not wanting to know what Snape was figuring out, and really wanting to put on a shirt so he could stop shivering. He stepped around the prickly older wizard to grab his long sleeved thermal with the hole in the armpit, but he was stopped by a firm grip on his upper arm.

"I can see that," Severus said tersely. "How did you acquire it?"

Harry looked up at him and saw that Snape already knew the answer, and that he was enraged. Again.

_Honestly! Why can't I catch a break? _"I got hit with a spell," Harry said defensively. He tried to pull his arm from Snape's grip, but he was trapped. "_Don't bloody touch me!"_ he raged, temper exploding in spite of his extreme despair over how badly he missed what he used to have with this wizard. He tried to dislodge his arm from Snape's grip with a sharp twist of his body. He hissed angrily at the stab of pain that exploded under his ribs.

"A time-turning spell?" Severus asked in a dangerous tone, oblivious to Harry's discomfort.

"Yes!" Harry said angrily, successfully yanking his arm out of Snape's grip and ignoring the desire to groan at how much it had hurt to do so. "It's not like I _wanted_ this to happen! _Any of it!"_

Severus gritted his teeth. "When did you get sent back? And from what date?"

"I'm not going to say! I can't risk telling anyone what I know about the future!" Harry protested. "I already know how easily everything will change!"

Severus frowned at that. "You should not presume to be so very wise as to make such assessments on behalf of _adults_, who actually are more qualified to determine the extent of this risk you claim." This boy was going to be the end of him.

Harry glared at Snape, his eyes filling with unbidden tears as his frustration level skyrocketed. _Nothing_ felt worse than having to listen to _this_ wizard tell him how stupid and naive he was. "Think what you want about me. You always do. But I _won't_ tell what I know. The stakes are too high."

"Your attitude is infuriating, Potter," Severus said coldly. "And it's testing my resolve to hold my temper with you."

_"I've already bloody lived through more than you can possibly imagine!"_ Harry exploded. "And now I have to do it all over again!" His voice cracked, and he shut his mouth to stop the rest of his rant. Snape looked fit to be tied. "I won't tell you more until I know it's safe to," Harry said forcefully, pressing his lips together. He was going to burst into tears, and he couldn't bear the way he knew he'd feel if Severus hugged him for the first time on this timeline while still seeing him as an imbecile. "I suppose it shocks you to hear I have _your_ safety in mind?"

Severus was unable to process what the boy had just said to him. Why in the world would Potter try to protect _him? _And in truth, he couldn't argue with what the young wizard had said about the danger of disclosing what he knew of the future. "Where is the time-turner, Potter?" he asked, diverting their discourse away from the brick wall that had just been erected between them again.

"Time-turner?" Harry gulped, confused. "I… I didn't see one," he said, deflated. "Does that matter?" He stepped away to struggle into the ratty thermal shirt. He was shaking badly. _I'm going to lose it._

"It would matter if you wanted to return to your former timeline," Severus informed him, slightly derailed by the shift in Potter's demeanor. The light had definitely been shed upon the reason for Potter's secrecy, but the remaining secrets were still a significant source of conflict. Severus would not be able to make a consistent change in his interaction with this boy until everything was out in the open. "And so, these secrets you continue to keep," he asked severly, "are in regard to events that you've already watched play out in the near future?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said unsteadily. "Things are happening differently this time, so I'm… I'm worried about stuff."

"What _stuff?"_ Severus asked, his patience waning yet again.

Harry's ire responded instantly to that tone. That suspicious, impatient, irritated tone of voice that reinforced every bad thing Harry had ever thought about himself. He glared up at the older wizard. _"Major_ stuff! Stuff that _I'm in the middle of,_ and that I've already had to battle _you_ to believe, so you'd stop thinking I was just some stupid boy trying to get attention!"

"Lower your voice while we discuss this," Severus seethed, unable to reconcile the things Potter was telling him with so little actual information.

Harry stepped back from his professor, out of arm's reach, before he said, "Look, even if it was a good idea, it would take me an entire month to try to recap what we've- what _I've_ gone through! This is not about whether I'm being _respectful_ to you!" He shook his head, glaring at the floor. "You were pretty awful last time around, but at least once you started finding stuff out, you backed off. This time, you're way worse. I'd rather do this stuff alone."

Incensed with frustration, Severus took a quick step toward Potter, and the boy flinched, _dramatically._ They both froze. Severus was not aware of what could be read in his expression, but Potter's was full of hurt and fear. And panic. Quick as a flash, the boy spun on his heel and bolted out of the room. Severus could hear Potter's bare feet pounding down the stairs into the common room as he stood in place, blinking and heaving deep breaths inward to offset the terrific plunge his stomach had just taken.

_Potter has been abused,_ he finally realized in deep shock. _All signs have indicated as much, and I've refused to acknowledge it._

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"Mr. Potter," Severus said as he made his way down the stairs, moving slowly as if he was approaching a skittish animal, "you need not fear me to such a degree."

_"Bollocks,"_ Harry spat brokenly from where he stood in the middle of the open area before the hearth. "You have that _look_ in your eye."

"What _look?"_ Severus asked, very carefully, choosing not to reprimand the rude brat's retort.

"That _look!_ The one that tells me you're going to show me what's what. And that you're going to happily do it."

"I may _tell_ you what's what," Severus said, "but I will give you my word, as of now, that I will not raise a hand to you. Alright?"

Harry studied him skeptically. "I honestly don't believe you," he said dully. "You won't stop wanting to whack me about until you have a better understanding of why I act the way I do. And _that's_ what I can't talk about yet."

That comment suggested Severus could have an opening, if he'd just be more careful with the angst-ridden teen. "How did things play out in your other timeline?" he tried. He put his hands in his pockets, eyebrow raised, as if to say, _see?_ when Harry gave him a frustrated look. "I've got my hands in my pockets Potter. They will not try to clobber you. Speak."

A tiny chip broke off of Harry's resolve as he got a much yearned for peek at the Severus he thought he knew beginning to come through. But he still held his ground. He had to.

Severus had been surprised to see a flash of amusement on the boy's face. _We were on better terms in his previous experience,_ he surmised, now recalling the way Potter had called him by his first name when still groggy from sleep. Be that as it may, _this_ version of Severus was not at all comfortable with that much familiarity with _anyone,_ let alone the boy he had disliked on sight because he looked so much like James Potter. _This_ version of himself was not emotionally close to anyone, other than Lucius, and Albus. He studied the tense young wizard, again really stopping to look at the boy's thin body, and smaller than normal stature for a fifth year. He realized that he had never _seen_ the signs of neglect that had always been right before his eyes. He felt a very distinct tightening in his chest from the anticipation of a world of guilt headed his way as he tried again. "Had you filed for Emancipation?"

Harry really, really wanted to go back to bed. Also, he really, really didn't want to end up getting walloped. He reckoned he needed to throw Snape a bone, and as far as protecting the others from the future was concerned, this seemed like a safe enough topic to Harry. "I'm answering you because you knew about this by now in the other timeline," Harry said. Snape raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent, hands still in the pockets of his trousers. "I filed because a lot of bad things were happening last term, and also my aunt told me they'd had enough of me. It was her idea, actually. She thought my uncle might kill me over the Dementors. Hermione helped me find out what had to be done, and I lined up a muggle solicitor and a Gringott's goblin to help with the legalities. I was going to sneak out to muggle London sometime this week to file, but then I unexpectedly got sent back to the Dursleys. So, that at least worked out."

Severus nodded. _Good. This is good._ "Tell me about these bad things that happened to drive you to make that choice."

Harry looked away, misery written on his face. It had made him feel incredibly small that Snape had been so indifferent to how much he'd suffered during those Occlumency lessons. He dreaded rehashing it again. But he ought to give Snape a real response.

Severus watched Potter struggle with himself, and his instincts told him he wasn't going to like what he would hear. "Just say it, Potter," he said, almost coaxingly.

"I've really got a problem with being called a liar," Harry rasped, and as it all resurfaced in a rush of tumultuous rage and hurt, he lost track of what he was saying. "Between the bloody _Prophet's_ blaring headlines, and the pathetic fools who believed the rubbish they printed, it didn't take long for me to stop talking to people. I'd get glared at and whispered about constantly. Add that to the dreams and visions from- …_Riddle,_ and feeling his emotions, which are incredibly ugly, you know-"

"And being unable to Occlude them?" Severus asked. He was beginning to see a picture he was not realizing had existed with Potter.

Harry shut his mouth and cast a glare at a chair across the common room. _I don't want to do this… I really don't want to do this…_ "It would have made a huge difference if you'd actually tried to _teach_ me something," he said, bringing his glare around to Snape as he spoke, his voice as icy as Snape's could get. "Just telling me to quiet my mind and then… _assaulting it,_ weren't particularly educational."

Severus clenched his jaw and forced himself not to reprimand the boy for his tone. "And yet, you did learn something, didn't you?" he asked, still being very careful. "You Occluded anything that would have raised my suspicions that you were being mistreated at your relatives."

"I was being mistreated by _you!"_ Harry blared, absolutely seething. "I was being mistreated by _Umbridge!_ Between the two of you-" _Stop. Enough said._

"So, I bear responsibility in your hardships." Severus was stunned at what had just been said, but knew he had no right to be. And the scowl on the boy's face confirmed this.

Harry could feel the exhaustion from his magical expenditure returning, and he debated where to collapse as he said heavily, "I've already had this confrontation with you, Professor. It was hard enough once, but _twice_ is a lot to ask."

"The facts, then, without preamble," Severus requested.

Harry pressed his lips together. "I left your classroom feeling like I'd been _…mind raped!_ I had headaches that lasted for _hours_ afterwards. Bad ones. I didn't practice, because I didn't really understand what it was I was supposed to be doing. Everything was so awful and difficult, but I… I felt guilty whenever you accused me of laziness," Harry told his professor. "But you're right. I did learn something. Two things, actually. One, I did learn how to keep you from seeing what my life with the Dursleys was really like. And the rest of that subject is off limits, by the way."

"And what was the second thing you learned?" Severus prompted, his voice calm in spite of his instinct to tell Potter off for declaring limits on what they could discuss.

_I learned that I couldn't Occlude Voldemort because I was too connected to him. _"I'll tell you when it's safe to say," Harry said, his energy was withering. He blinked a few times, feeling a numbness he didn't understand wash over him.

"Potter?"

"I'm going back to bed," Harry announced and turned to head to the stairs. Snape was quickly beside him, and Harry sensed he might try to put a supportive arm around him. He twisted out of reach and forced himself up the stairs, making a beeline for his bed and collapsing back into it. Sleep overtook him before he even thought to remove his glasses.

Severus hesitated to touch Potter again, after the way he'd flinched and jerked himself to avoid allowing it thus far. But it bothered him that the little fool hadn't bothered to cover himself up. He removed the boy's glasses, levitated him briefly to get his covers out from beneath him, and then covered him carefully. He pulled out Potter's desk chair and sat quietly, the heaviness of the responsibility he had in the boy's hardships weighing him down to a point of needing to Occlude his own thoughts from damning himself with deep, deep shame. He watched the young wizard's eyes twitch beneath their lids as Merlin only knew what was being painted in the pictures of his dreams. It did not sit well that he'd not managed to heal Potter's injury from Bellatrix Lestrange's curse. Oh yes, Severus knew that spell, and also the counter curse that Potter would need to suffer through to get the bruise to heal. It would be an unpleasant experience, unfortunately. _Not exactly an opportunity to bridge the canyon-sized gap between our perspectives._

There was a light tapping on the door, and Severus looked up to see Lupin enter with a furrowed brow. "Is Harry alright?" the new DADA professor asked quietly, but with very open concern.

"He is not," Severus said. "And I am just now concluding that he should be sleeping in my quarters, where I can keep closer supervision over him."

"What's going on, Severus?" Remus asked.

"At the moment, I am trying to contain a horrid set of circumstances," Severus answered, choosing a cryptic non-answer to cover his shame.

"Are you asking me to install a room for Harry in your quarters?" Remus asked, and then after a beat, "Is this alright with Harry?"

Severus snapped his head toward the werewolf. "It's not up to the boy," he said icily. "It is _up to me._ I have determined he needs to be in closer proximity to me in the immediate future."

"Have you discussed this with Albus or Minerva?" Remus asked, suspicious of Severus' evasive response.

Severus sighed loudly. "You've repeatedly offered to repay my efforts to provide you with the Wolfsbane Potion, have you not?" he ground out unpleasantly. He had no intention of discussing this with Albus. Not until Potter was willing to elaborate more extensively about his issues with the elderly wizard. "Will. you. do. this?"

"Yes," Remus said reluctantly. "When?"

"Immediately."

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"When will you bring Harry down here, Severus?" Remus asked as he put the finishing touches on the small bedchamber he'd added between the doors to Severus' bedroom and the bathroom. He'd grown increasingly tense about this impending arrangement for Harry as he'd worked, and Severus had not been forthcoming with any further explanation.

"I imagine tomorrow night will suffice," the potions master replied dismissively. "I also imagine I will be ready to throttle him by the time he retires for sleep."

Remus turned to him with narrowed eyes, his patience having run through its limits. "Do you have any concerns as to why Harry sought Emancipation?" he demanded. "Do you know any more about why he had that knot on his forehead? Or why he was in tears when Albus confronted him about the wards?"

Severus had spent the past forty-five minutes battling himself inwardly over just how extensively he now officially would need to atone for his treatment of Potter for the past four and a half years. The past two days alone were enough to make a red flush of shame rise up from his neck through his hairline. He was not particularly interested in sharing this with Remus Lupin, of all people. "I will deal with the boy and his problems as I see fit, wolf," Severus said in his nastiest tone.

Remus snapped at that. He grabbed Severus by the shoulders and slammed him back against the wall he'd just expanded, putting his face right in front of his former school mate's. "I will warn you once, Severus," he seethed, "you will answer _to me_ if you harm that boy in any way." He pulled Severus forward and slammed him back into the wall again to emphasize his threat.

Enraged, Severus thrust his arms up between them and knocked Lupin's away, quickly grabbing the werewolf and spinning _him_ around, and slamming _him_ into the wall. "And I have already warned _you,_ wolf," he spat, "not to assume you know what is behind my motivations where Potter is concerned. The boy is oblivious to _everything_ and _everyone_, caring _only_ about his own personal agenda."

Remus directed a very cold glare at Severus. "You really have no idea who Harry is, Severus," he said in a steely tone. "You never have. He is incredibly sensitive, and if you think your wretched treatment of him has left him unscathed, you are a fool. He deserves better than this."

The two wizards glared at each other with open hostility. It need not be said aloud that Remus believed he could take better care of Harry, but would never be legally allowed to do so in the wizarding world. Remus jerked himself out of Severus' grip and left the potion master's quarters in a defeated rage.


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: I've really set myself up for a doosey here… this pseudo-sequel is quite a challenge to write. But I'm loving it. Hope you enjoy poor Harry's continued altered state of existence. ;D_**

Chapter 6 - EM-E - Altered State - Part III

Severus sat with his coffee the following morning, unable to stomach food on top of the knots that currently filled his abdomen. He was tense on so many levels, not the least of which was his conviction that he must handle what was to come with Harry Potter with very, very special care. It had been an extreme luxury to have channeled his longstanding bitterness, to such an overbearing degree, into cruelty and hostility toward James Potter's son. Severus had indulged himself wholeheartedly, and without apology, for years now, ignoring reprimands from his peers and from Albus, and convincing himself he was in the right to continue to treat Harry Potter with disdain. As if the boy had somehow earned such treatment.

And how quickly Severus' self righteous sense of justification had deserted him when he'd finally seen the boy's true vulnerabilities. In the flash of an instant, Harry Potter was no longer James' spawn, but Lily's precious child. The one she'd died for, without hesitation. Severus had sworn to protect his best friend's son, and he'd failed. It was as simple as that.

Severus had slept very little the previous night, spending several hours at Potter's bedside, watching the boy struggle with night terrors and feeling ashamed that he could not offer comfort or a sense of security. He should at least be able to reassure Lily's son that he would be kept safe. _That he is safe in my care._

But Harry Potter had been very adamant about just how _unsafe_ he'd truly been all of this time, and about the role that Severus had played in reinforcing this. For years now, Severus had interpreted Potter's reactions to his criticism as indifference, assuming that the messy haired teen could care less what his professor thought of him. He'd taken satisfaction in pushing the young wizard's buttons, inducing bouts of temper that could be punished with questionable justification. And he'd been enraged on the occasions that Potter had responded with dry-eyed indifference to his taunts, so much so that Severus had concluded that the boy could not be made to feel shame or remorse without very strong encouragement. _You have no idea who Harry is,_ Lupin's words from last night now haunted him. _You never have. He is incredibly sensitive, and if you think your wretched treatment of him has left him unscathed, you are a fool._

His stomach muscles clenched again, causing a painful cramp. He had no idea where to begin. His instincts told him to bring the boy down here, but not before he could at least make an initial gesture toward Potter to prove he was ready to be more supportive. Potter had already had several episodes of harsh crying, which he'd tried to hide, and Severus had not even acknowledged this. He'd not offered a kind word, nor any other sort of comfort. They'd yet to have a coherent discussion about all of the developments that had occurred in the last three days, including that episode of _disapparation,_ and Severus' encounter with Petunia, as well as his discussion with one Madam Chase.

A rap on the door interrupted his thoughts, and he leapt at the opportunity for distraction, although he knew it could only be one person seeking his attention. "Lupin," he greeted, managing to abstain from sneering as he opened the door for his fellow professor.

Remus was a tad surprised at this reception, and had been prepared use his wand if necessary, but the potions master stepped aside to let him enter, which he did with a raised eyebrow. "Good morning, Severus, Happy Christmas," he said as he walked a few steps further in before turning back to face the other wizard. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. I do realize you are under extreme pressure, and that an unexpected guardianship of a teenager is a lot to take on. I would much rather that you consider me someone who is happy to share responsibility of Harry with you, than as a threat or an obstacle." He allowed a plea to show in his expression. "I think the world of Harry, and I'm very worried about him."

Severus struggled with this information, and with himself. He knew damned well that he should not antagonize Lupin any longer, and he recalled his recent decision to stop treating him as an enemy. But that didn't mean he wanted to be _mates_ with the wan wizard. He gritted his teeth for a moment and girded himself to give an appropriate response. "I appreciate your apology, and… I apologize as well. I do know you care about the boy. And I also know that I've given you little reason to believe I have his best interests at heart. I've given him even less reason to believe this."

Remus nodded calmly. "Will you tell me what was behind your becoming his guardian? Why you didn't have Arthur and Molly take him in, for example?"

Severus' eyebrows shot up inadvertently as he realized he'd not considered any other options. He narrowed his eyes, reminding himself not to be so transparent as to become defensive over a simple, logical inquiry. "I didn't truly have time to consider the options. Petunia had relinquished custody. The Ministry of Magic would have received an alert on the matter in a manner of seconds. At least this way, the paper trail could take until the end of the holidays to make it's way into our world. I wouldn't want Fudge to be able to use this as a reason to force Potter into Ministry custody."

"Ah," Remus said, clearly recognizing the significance of Severus' decision. "Well, done."

Severus inclined his head and continued, "It is just over a month until the Emancipation would become legal, so it's not a lifelong commitment, you see. And I will admit that I wanted to position myself to act on Potter's behalf, in regard to any actions that will be taken against the Dursleys. The boy has not revealed details, but I fear his conditions under their roof were quite poor, and quite _regrettable…"_ He tapered off, pondering whether to say more. He looked away from Lupin when he added, "I will also admit that I …dread discovery that I have overlooked such a horrible possibility, all of this time. As you said, I have seen what I've wanted to see." There. He'd said it. And to the worst possible person. Remus Lupin would hold him accountable going forward if he mistreated the Potter boy again, and that alone was incentive to behave himself. He'd be damned if he was going to answer to the werewolf for anything.

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Harry had been awake for about an hour and had requested a huge breakfast from Dobby. He'd stayed in his pajamas while he'd eaten oatmeal, and eggs and toast, worrying that he was still feeling the heavy numbness that had set in the previous night while he'd been "having a dialogue" with Snape. He felt better physically again, as if he'd replenished his strength with all of the sleep and now the meal. But the fogginess in his mind was a bit unnerving. He was having trouble keeping track of everything he was so distressed about…

His scar had been prickling too, all day yesterday, and now again this morning. It was reminding him of all of the trying events that had occurred in this first week of the holidays last time around. _I need to know how Snape found out about my petition. I wonder if Fudge went to Privet Drive last time? He must have done, right? I was asleep in the chair when he went there, so I hadn't ticked Snape off yet and changed the way things are happening this time._

Harry thought about how Dumbledore had gone into muggle London to get the papers drawn up for Severus to become Harry's guardian that second week in January. That meant that _last_ time, Aunt Petunia hadn't yet relinquished custody, right? That's what Dumbledore had said… had he fabricated all of that? Had Harry actually been without a legal custodian for those three weeks, and Dumbledore had stumbled upon that, and turned it into an opportunity to make nice with him and Severus? _I'll never know, now. _Harry was not inclined to believe Dumbledore typically lied to keep his plans moving forward, but this new question was worrisome.

He'd deliberately not allowed himself to dwell upon, or contemplate the upcoming confrontation with Voldemort. The most compelling reason for this had been simple fear that he could reveal something through his thoughts to the snake-faced menace. But he also just couldn't breathe when his stomach clenched that tightly. He wondered if Fudge would get killed this time? Or if someone else would…? _That_ option scared him. Badly.

Prickle. Tingle. Tingle. Prickle.

He rubbed at the damned firebolt mark on his forehead. _What is that bastard up to, now?_

_"Ahhhhh!"_ Harry suddenly yelled loudly, as his scar raged with angry pain at a level of intensity that he recognized as perilous. This was bad, and it was too soon. _Last time, this didn't happen until Saturday._ It was only Wednesday. Christmas Day. He could feel Voldemort's invasion a few minutes before it came, and was unable to expel him, having no happy thoughts on hand to fall back upon.

_Harry, Harry, Harry… tssk tssk. I believe I need to have a chat with you, in person. I've been aware that you've been in hiding, and have suspected that Severus and Lucius are aiding you in this regard. So come here. Now. We must discuss this._

Harry felt that _pull,_ that bleeding, infernal _pull._ Again. He wasn't ready to do this! _I've lost everything! I don't have-_ he stopped that thought before it could form. He could remember the same hug from Severus that he'd used the last time. That had been _real, _and it had repelled the evil snake-faced bastard once, so it could bloody well do it again. He struggled against Voldemort's determined efforts to transport him, wanting to at least be able to alert Snape about what was happening, but he was losing the battle.

_Bugger!_

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The scene was somewhat similar to the last time Harry had been pulled through whatever porthole Voldemort's wild magic was actually accessing, in that he was outdoors, in an open area. Harry was again forced to sprawl on the ground by the intense weight of Voldemort's magic, and he was only able to see with impaired peripheral vision that the megalomaniac of everyone's nightmares was indeed working alone again, and that he again had a prisoner in tow, along with Nagini, who slithered in a winding figure eight around her master's feet.

Harry shut his mind down, not wanting to risk revealing anything of what he knew from last time, in case he was going to be _Legilimized_ again. He startled dramatically when he heard a bellow of pain in a familiar voice. _Lucius._ Harry struggled with all of his might to roll onto his hands and knees and have a look at his surroundings. He was in the clearing on the hillside below Hagrid's hut, almost exactly where they'd used the basilisk venom to force the diadem to release its grip from Thora Breckin. This time, Lucius was kneeling in front of Voldemort with what appeared to be little remaining strength.

_"Crucio!"_ Voldemort yelled, angling his wand down on Lucius and smiling a very ugly smile of satisfaction at the blond wizard's cries of agony. Lucius fell to his side and writhed uncontrollably on the frozen earth. "Ah, Lucius, I've gone and spoiled your Christmas, haven't I? Such a shame. Narcissa and Draco have had quite enough of your absences, haven't they?"

Harry's heart rose up into his throat, but just like the previous time he'd confronted the bloody Dark Lord, he was trapped beneath that wretched magical weight. He dared not reveal how badly he felt for the senior Malfoy, and it was a true test of his strength to keep his mouth shut. _This is different. I may not be able to end it this time,_ he realized in horrible alarm. It took tremendous determination, but Harry was able to angle his head slightly enough to see if the shield was there. If the Centaurs were there.

The shield was visible, but the clearing was empty of others. It was just the three of them, and the snake.

"Now, Harry," Voldemort began, leaving his wretched blond haired servant in a quaking heap on the cold ground while he stepped closer to The Boy Who Lived. "I believe we have some things to discuss. You see, I am having a difficult time believing the explanation I've gotten from dear Lucius about what actually occurred last week at the Ministry of Magic." He took another step towards Harry, beginning that same circular arc he'd walked in the previous confrontation.

Harry's scar exploded with pain, and he was terrified of losing consciousness if it got much worse. "What do you want to know?" he grated out, trying with all of his might to hide his discomfort.

Voldemort chuckled. "You're not particularly fond of our Lucius, are you?"

"I'm less fond of you, Tom, and if you want me to be forthcoming, you'll keep your distance," Harry said, crossing mental fingers that the evil bastard would step away. No luck, there.

"Well, now Harry," the darkest wizard of recent ages said in a sick, slithery tone, "you are showing very poor manners just now. I'm happy to remind you of your place, when you are before _Lord Voldemort."_

_Bugger!_ Harry thought in the split second before he was hit with some sort of scalding hex that felt like a wide strip of skin had been flayed off his back. He cried out before he could stop himself, hating the satisfied laughter coming from Tom Riddle. The pain on his back went on and on, in waves, like someone was lashing him, over and over. Voldemort had indeed stepped a pace or so backward and the relief in Harry's scar pain only made room for him to feel the godforsaken curse.

"If I end the curse, Harry, will you be more respectful?" Riddle asked in what he probably thought was a kind, parental sort of tone. "I'm not enjoying having to _punish_ you."

_Eyewww._ Harry thought in utter repulsion, but it was enough of a distraction for him to remind himself to look for his moment to act. He was still on his hands and knees, and feeling distinctly vulnerable to further attack. The creepy way Tom had said the word _punish_ had set off alarm bells in his mind. "What do you want to know?" he repeated in a rasping voice, struggling not to panic.

"I want you to tell me what you remember of your encounter with Mr. Malfoy, here," Voldemort commanded, his cold voice like hard steel now. "Lucius is also getting punished today, and you get to contribute, Harry."

Harry managed to sit back on his knees. He wasn't certain if he was gaining strength on his own, or if Riddle was allowing him some more movement, but now he could see the full scene before him. Lucius was still conscious, and he was looking at Harry, but it was clear that the blond wizard expected Harry to take advantage of an opportunity for payback. Harry looked at the dark Lord Voldemort, keeping his eyes on the evil wizard's cheekbones to avoid eye contact, as he tried to ride out the curse pain, and the scar pain, and speak coherently. "I remember Mr. Malfoy showing up in the Department of Prophecies, right as we found the globe with my name on it," Harry said, hoping he sounded resentful for Malfoy Sr.'s intrusion. "I had no idea how the prophecy worked, and reckoned that I should try to leave with it." In truth, Harry had no idea what Riddle had expected Lucius to do with the prophecy, since supposedly it could only be heard with Harry's intention. "Malfoy kept appearing, no matter where we ran, and I realized he was afraid I was going to drop the prophecy." _Yeah, yeah, blah, blah,_ Harry thought. _I'm going to get Lucius killed at this rate._

"What else, Harry?" Voldemort coaxed silkily. He flicked his wand and another streak of burning pain slashed across Harry's back.

Harry nearly passed out again, and now his large breakfast was starting to feel like it wanted to come back up. But he resisted the desire to yell out his agony.

_"What else, Harry?"_ Voldemort demanded.

"What do you want me to bloody tell you?" Harry yelled, his voice cracked, but the emotion behind that was rage now. _I am so bloody tired of this!_ "I threw the prophecy, and it smashed on the ground, and that was a dumb thing to do because Malfoy got to hear it, didn't he?"

"Look at me, boy," Voldemort commanded.

Harry gritted his teeth. He tried to calm his anger as his eyes darted over to look at Lucius, who was still watching him like a hawk. Finally, he met the red snake eyes of Lord Voldemort, revulsion creeping upward into his chest as he did so. He was immediately aware of intrusion, accompanied by the familiar knifelike pain that Snape always induced. Panic set in, and he struggled to pull himself into the part of his mind that he knew he shared with the Dark Lord.

"You've had many, many sad and humiliating experiences, haven't you, Harry?" Voldemort taunted.

"Plenty," Harry agreed. And then his courage kicked back in. _Bugger off!_ It was no trouble at all to summon a more recent memory with Severus, when the older wizard had shed tears of frustration on Harry's behalf while he'd held Harry. That had been an awesome hug… Harry smiled as the burst of happiness and belonging resurfaced. He smiled even wider when he saw Voldemort physically squirm in revulsion and step back. He managed to hold the dark wizard's stare with a challenging smirk. It didn't matter if he was shaking. Harry was _smirking._

"You've come to care about Severus that deeply?" Riddle said tauntingly. "You shouldn't have let me see that, Harry."

"I wasn't remembering it for _you,"_ Harry said.

"Yes, but you see, now I have no choice but to put Severus to death for his betrayal."

_The hell you will._ Harry narrowed his eyes as he visualized a large, invisible set of hands clasping around Voldemort's reptilian head and snapping it harshly to the side. There was a horrible _crack,_ and the Dark Lord's knees instantly buckled. Harry suddenly felt an enormous rush of physical strength, as he next visualized Voldemort as the same brittle porcelain figure as before, and just as he'd done the previous time, levitated it high into the air.

Harry pulled out his wand. _"Bombarda!"_ he yelled, sending wild magic into the curse. This time, the corpse blew apart so powerfully, all that remained of it was completely pulverized into tiny shards. Harry blinked, looking around quickly before the inevitable collapse he knew was about to come. In the flash of an instant, he saw Nagini take off across the grounds for the Forbidden Forest, and a familiar cloud of black, sandy-looking smoke swirl around, looking for a tie to Voldemort. Lucius proved useless to it, so it tried Harry next. Harry shielded himself with his wild magic and repelled it easily. After another few moments, it dissipated into the air.

Now his knees buckled, and he started to sink toward the ground. There was a roar in his ears as he called out to Lucius, "Can you banish any of this dust from here? Send it far away?" He was aware that Lucius reacted as he pointed his own wand at a section of the layer of powdered Dark Lord, and cast it away to the bottom of the lake as he'd done previously. Then, with the last of his strength, he sent some to the flower beds on Privet Drive. _For fertilizer,_ he thought with a snicker. And then he knew no more.

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Harry's awareness returned sometime later, along with an intense chill and a horrible realization of what he'd just done. Again. _I've killed twice, now._

_"Lucius?"_ Harry heard Snape's voice yell out in alarm over the sound of pounding footfalls. Snape was running toward Harry.

"I'm alright," Lucius rasped from somewhere not too far off. "Help Harry."

Harry felt a rush of wind from Snape skidding to a stop and dropping down to his knees beside him.

"Potter? Harry?"

A rush of emotion filled Harry's chest and he tried to open his eyes, but couldn't. The palm of a warm hand rested on his forehead and the back of another one brushed at the tears that had leaked down the sides of his face. Harry heard Snape mutter a series of charms, and felt instantly warmer and softly cushioned from the harsh ground beneath the deadweight of his body.

"What in the hell just happened?" Snape demanded anxiously, but his thumb was gentle as it swiped back and forth across Harry's forehead.

"Check your dark mark, Severus," Lucius said brokenly. "The boy just rid us of the Dark Lord."

Harry literally felt bereft when his guardian removed his hand for a moment to do as Lucius had suggested. _"What?"_ he heard the older wizard whisper, and then the huff of a relieved sob that was quickly stifled as the warm hand returned to Harry's forehead. "How did you manage that, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked brokenly.

"Mmmuurrrddduur," Harry struggled to say.

There was a long silence. "I highly doubt that what you did constituted murder, young man," Snape said quietly.

"For Merlin's sake, Severus," Lucius said testily. He sounded to Harry like he was on his feet now, standing nearby. "The boy is in tears. Where is your compassion? Put your arms around him. Or are you too jaded these days to even manage that?"

"I am not jaded," Severus snarled at his friend. "The boy has just encountered the Dark Lord. There is little likelihood that he has escaped without being cursed. I didn't want to agitate any injuries." He could hear his own defensiveness in his tone and was livid that Lucius had said so much in front of Potter. He'd been battling himself not to scoop the boy up and crush him to his chest. But Potter had told him not to touch him the other night. Severus was not about to impose unwanted physical comfort on someone who would be repulsed by it. But he looked back down at The Boy Who Lived and the tears had resumed to the point that his eyes were reddening around his closed lids and his pallor had grown flushed with emotion. Severus ducked his head down closer to his ward's. "Harry? Are you injured?"

"He did take a couple of curses," Lucius realized. "They should have lifted when the Dark Lord succumbed to the _snapped neck_ that Potter induced."

There was another long silence as that bit of information settled in.

"I'm going to lift you," Severus told the deflated teen as he sat him up. He pulled a magic replenishing potion from his pocket and pressed it to Potter's lips. "Drink," he instructed. And then, "Good," when the boy had complied. Severus waited another moment before asking softly, still keeping his own head ducked down closer to the limp teen's, "Will I hurt you if I lift you, Harry?"

"Nnnn," Harry managed, still weak, but far more aware of his circumstances.

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Remus traipsed up the steep slope of the grounds from the gate, needing the exertion. He'd just come from briefly seeing Arthur and Molly, and had gotten an earful about how much they'd always worried about the way Harry's relatives had treated him. Both Weasley parents were adamant that Harry should have been allowed to spend the holidays with them, and the fact that they'd not been allowed to know where he currently was had left them fit to be tied. Remus had felt extreme guilt for not letting them know Harry was at Hogwarts, but also knew it was too dangerous to reveal this at the moment. Besides, the first question Molly would have asked was whether Severus was giving Harry proper care, and Remus would have been hard pressed to have sounded convincing that Harry would be fine.

Severus had asked Remus to look for Hedwig at The Burrow, so at least he could let Harry know she'd gone to stay at the Weasleys' for the holidays. And, his pockets were loaded with shrunken packages containing Molly's holiday cooking. Remus had little else to offer Harry, other than a gift he'd purchased a while back for the boy. He struggled to force his thoughts away from Sirius, and the tragedy that his best friend was missing a Christmas he had been so excited to spend with his godson. _I just hope he's at peace, wherever he is now._

Remus hastily cleared his throat against the tightening he felt there, casting his glance off to the distance, near Hagrid's hut.

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"Severus? Lucius? What's happened to Harry?"

Severus glanced down at his ward's face and saw that the boy's distress was still visible. "He's alright, Lupin," he told the DADA professor in a voice that was stripped of all affects, and left with the pure rawness of brutal reality. "Harry Potter has rid us of Lord Voldemort."

_"What?"_ Remus had to have heard incorrectly.

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It had been a challenge for Severus, but he had managed to maintain his composure, as well as to have convinced Lupin to hold his questions until they had The Boy Who Lived safely inside, and Lucius thoroughly dosed with post _cruciatus_ potion. Severus had settled Harry in his Gryffindor dorm bed, and Lupin had tactfully refrained from mentioning the bedroom for him in Severus' quarters just yet, instead suggesting they reconvene once Harry had slept off his magical exhaustion. Lucius had excused himself to go rest in Severus' quarters, and followed Lupin out of the room.

Severus fussed with the covers, pulling them farther up over Harry's shoulders while he debated what to say. He could tell by the way the boy was breathing that he was not asleep. "It's of little consequence now, Harry, but I do apologize for my contributions to your hardships. And I also realize how much distress I have caused you these last few days. I will endeavor to change my behavior." He tucked the blankets around Harry again, then straightened up to look down on him. "And, now that you've rid us of the Dark Lord-"

"It's not over yet, sir," Harry muttered. His chin quivered and tears spilled out of his closed eyes again. "There's a lot more coming."


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N: That pesky "Real Life" thingy has been wreaking havoc on my writing indulgence. I'm so sorry about the wait. I have a feeling I've got another couple of tough weeks ahead before I can return to my bi- or tri-weekly updates. Hope you'll hang in there, in the meantime! And this chapter is dedicated to the fully EM-E addicted "_****_anyeshabaner" ;D Enjoy!_**

Chapter 7 - EM-E - Fractured State - Part I

Severus watched over Harry Potter for three solid hours, determined that when the boy stirred from his death-like slumber, that he would not wake alone. Now that Severus had a much clearer concept of the level of stress the boy had been dealing with for months, and the isolation in which he had borne his burdens, he was determined to make good use of his time as Potter's guardian.

And yes, this was his only coherent plan. The rest of his racing thoughts had been feeding through his mind in a constant, chaotic loop. There was so much to be addressed with his young charge, ranging from the abuse he'd suffered at school and home, to the time travel curse and his lingering injury, to his destruction of the Dark Lord and thinking himself a murderer. At this thought, Severus leaned forward with elbows on knees and covered his face with his hands. _Lily's boy actually killed the Dark Lord! I'm free of that bastard. And by extension, I am free of my debt to Albus. _He still had no idea what had happened, how both Lucius and Harry had come to be on the Hogwarts grounds under Voldemort's control without the wards having alerted him to the breach.

Severus swiped at the moisture beneath his eyes and glanced over at Potter in time to witness him jerking violently in his sleep, twisting from his side to his back and grimacing dramatically as he let out a hiss of pain, before finally opening his eyes to stare without focus at the canopy of his bed.

"Are you in pain, Harry?" Severus asked him softly.

"Yeah," Harry whispered. His arms were already wrapping around his torso. "I think that time-turner curse is getting worse," Harry said in a gravelly voice. "The bruise hurts a lot. It woke me up."

"And it will continue to do so, I'm afraid," Severus said, "unless you are willing to suffer through the counter curse."

There was a long silence while Severus waited to see how Harry would respond. He badly wanted to fix every hurt that he possibly could, in an attempt to right every wrong he could. But he had no idea how The Boy Who Lived would feel about him being the one to apply treatments and healing spells at this point. He watched Harry bite his lip as he contemplated his response.

"Lovely," Harry finally said in a dull voice. "Do you know it by chance? Or do I have to track down ol' Bellatrix and see if she's feeling compassionate?"

Severus was thrown somewhat off-kilter with this sudden flippant tone from his ward, when he could clearly see the heavy misery in the boy's profile. "I do know it. It is not particularly pleasant, Harry."

Harry turned to look at blurry Snape. He was hearing _Severus_ in the older wizard's tone, and knew that he would likely see more and more of the mentor he'd grown to love as a father figure, now that he could be more open about what he knew. But Harry was instinctively wary, remembering how much friction there had been between him and Severus in the early stages, even after they'd forged a bond. Harry just couldn't stomach more of that nasty side of his professor coming out unexpectedly at this point. It was too much on top of the loss of that bond. _…Even if I might be able to rebuild it. … ugh, this is completely mental! _

"What will happen to me if you cast the counter curse?" Harry asked, keeping his other thoughts to himself.

"You will feel the healing process in its entirety," Severus told him. "A remnant of Madame Lestrange's bizarre sense of humor. It would not be enough to incapacitate you, but I imagine after everything you've been through lately, it may take a higher toll on you than it would in other circumstances."

"But that's it?" Harry asked. "Just discomfort?"

"That is enough, is it not?" Severus asked carefully.

"Can you do it now?" Harry asked wearily. "I feel horrible anyway."

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The counter curse was indeed unpleasant. Harry literally _could _feel each and every one of his tissue cells and capillaries and nerve endings going through their healing processes. _Bloody Bellatrix._ The one good thing about his coming back in time was that he could still find a way to make Madame Lestrange pay for all that she'd done - to him, to Sirius, to the Longbottoms, and anyone else, for that matter. He'd muttered as much under his breath, to which Snape had advised he take the time to recover from the day's events first. Now Harry lay on his back on his bed, still wearing the thermal shirt from last night, which was currently pulled up to expose his rapidly dissipating bruise. The sensation was an unsettling combination of burning, tickling and stinging. He'd certainly suffered worse… _just this morning, in fact. _But he was genuinely warn out enough to feel close to tears by the experience.

Severus had taken a seat on the bed beside Harry after the first couple of minutes, and had distracted him to some degree with minor inquiries, such as, when had Harry last eaten? was he warm enough? was he hurting from the other curses he'd been hit with? Harry had responded that he was fine in all cases, but had kept his eyes averted. When the silence had crept back between them again, Severus had remembered to tell the boy that he'd seen Hedwig in Somerset, and had sent her to The Burrow, adding that Lupin had seen her there this morning and she was safe. Harry had managed a relieved smile and a whispered _thanks. _He'd asked Severus when Lupin would be moving into the castle, and was surprised but clearly pleased to hear the former Marauder was already settled in. It was clear to Severus this was another detail that was playing out differently in Potter's new experience.

"Thank you, sir," Harry said, his voice weakening to a whisper as sleep struggled to overcome him again.

"You're welcome," Severus replied, pulling the boy's shirt back down and standing to move the covers back over him. "I believe the worst is over. How are you feeling, now?"

"Better," Harry responded. "I think I'll sleep more…" He felt a warm hand on his head as he slipped back into oblivion.

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Severus had made sure Harry was sleeping soundly before he flooed back to his quarters to check on Lucius and get an overview from the other wizard as to just what had really happened. But Lucius was still in bad shape, and was not responding well to Severus' potion.

"The pain was exceptional, worse than any other occasion," Lucius gritted through the mini-convulsion-like tremors he was continuing to experience as he paced around the sitting area. "The potions only helped to a certain extent. When would it be safe to have another dose?"

"Not yet," Severus said apologetically. He was very precise with the potions he'd developed, and the post _cruciatus_ combination, along with his magic replenishing potion and a few others, each had to be taken with care. There was danger of overdose in some cases.

"Is Harry not suffering as well? He took a couple of scalding hexes on his back."

Severus frowned. "He apparently recovered quickly," he said, realizing that this was something to be questioned, along with numerous other anomalies, such as how in the world the boy had found enough magical power to kill Lord Voldemort.

"He gave the Dark Lord the impression that he cared very deeply about you, Severus," Lucius said. "I find myself a bit baffled at both that, and the fact that he has not shown me any hostility in recent days. Why is this?"

Severus was alarmed to hear this, recognizing yet another dimension by which Harry could be hurting. "Do you recall my observation, just yesterday morning, that when Harry's secrets came out, there would be catastrophe all around?"

"I do," Lucius said. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, and his intermittent shuddering added a touch of drama when he asked, "What, pray tell, has he been hiding?"

"He got hit by a spell cast by _Bellatrix,"_ Severus told him, pausing for emphasis. "In January, of the coming year."

"He-" Lucius stopped himself. _"What?"_

"Yes, and I only just found this out last evening, and being that he has been in a chronic state of magical exhaustion ever since, I haven't had any opportunity to really speak with him about it, other than to be adamantly told that he would say nothing further until he knew it was safe to do so," Severus relayed. He paused, giving his friend a look that suggested there was a difficult encounter ahead of them. "I believe this morning's events were a _reenactment_ for him, and that now he might feel safe to explain further."

"I will need alcohol," Lucius announced. He was still unable to sit, so he strode over to the credenza that served as Severus' bar and stood looking down at the glassware. Shaking his head, he conjured a crystal tumbler and a couple of cubes of ice for his shot of Old Ogden's. "Presentation can add so much to the experience," he explained when he caught Severus' annoyed expression.

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Remus was settled on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room reading a note from Dora.

_Dear Remus,_

_ I thought you might want to know that Minister Fudge called us into work this morning, without apology for spoiling our Christmas holiday, I might add, to inform us that he wanted to start an investigation into the break-in to the Ministry of Magic. He is focusing on Harry exclusively. Kingsley, Mad-Eye and I all tossed out other suspicious characters, such as, oh I don't know, _You-Know_Who,_ or some of his Death Eaters whom we'd arrested on the premises, but he would not hear it. I've written to Albus, and I know Mad-Eye will fill him in as well, but I thought you'd do well with a message too. I know how much Harry means to you._

_ With deep regard, Dora_

Remus' heart was racing at this news. He was also admittedly curious about just how deep the younger witch's regard ran for him, but it was only a fleeting thought in the face of what he now feared for Harry.

When Severus stepped through the floo, Remus stood and handed him the letter. "We've got complications."

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Severus was just coming through the dorm's doorway when Harry emerged from the bathroom, towel-drying his hair and dressed in fresh, albeit it old and overly large, clothing. "How can you possibly be awake already?" he asked the boy in exasperation. _Dammit,_ he griped inwardly. He could tell Potter had cried under the spray of the shower again. Alone. "I'm not certain you should be up and about yet, young man," Severus said, keeping his tone moderate, but to no avail because the messy haired teen gave him a challenging look that could only lead to raised voices and clashes of their two very stubborn personalities if addressed.

Harry's anxiety level was at an all time high now. He'd awoken to a mind filled with racing thoughts and realizations. "Professor, it's really important that I talk to everyone at once," Harry said, not oblivious to the way his guardian was slowly moving towards him. If he allowed it, Harry knew he'd be engulfed in a comforting embrace within a matter of moments, but he was afraid he'd lose the tiny grip on everything that was in jeopardy. He scooted around Snape and went to his trunk to remove the Marauder's Map and checked his pocket for his DA Galleon. "Please, sir? While I've got it all somewhat sorted? We need Mr. Malfoy, Remus, and Dumbledore."

"Slow down, Mr. Potter," Severus said, frowning at the boy's request. "I hesitate to include the Headmaster just yet. But there are already developments, and I am relieved you want to include Lucius in this."

"He was involved in a lot of what we had to handle, er will have to handle," Harry said, shaking his head. He banished the towel back to the bathroom and ran hands through his damp hair, completely missing the stunned expression on Snape's face.

"Where would you like to gather us for this discussion?" Severus asked.

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"Alright, Harry?" Remus asked as Severus and Harry came down into the common room. He was heartened to receive a responding smile, but could see how terribly strained the fifteen year old was.

"Hi, Remus," Harry said nervously. He was shaking with agitation. It was actually a horrible place in which to be, having to tell the three adult wizards what he knew. And how tied into everything he truly was. Remus spotted the Map in Harry's hand and nodded his unspoken agreement that it would be a vital tool.

"We will be adjourning to the Room of Requirement," Severus told Lupin.

"Let's check the Map, Harry, just to be sure we have no visitors on the grounds, shall we?" Remus asked.

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Severus found himself unable to resist reaching out to lay his hand on Harry's neck as they walked the halls to the ROR. The boy was startled enough to jump slightly at the contact, but didn't resist, and in fact modified his pace so that their steps were more in sync. Severus supposed it was a good thing that he could only focus on what would be revealed in their discussion, rather than dwell on the demonstration of the _Marauder's Map_ he'd just received. If he were to allow himself to recollect the last time he'd seen that folded piece of parchment in Harry's hands and how it had insulted him, he might get a bit testy over things that could not be changed, such as how badly he'd wanted to throttle the third year Harry Potter on that occasion.

When they reached the Room of Requirement, the two older wizards let Harry make the request for the interior he desired, and watched as the young wizard paced back and forth before the seemingly doorless wall with his head bowed in concentration. The entrance appeared, revealing a large room, complete with roaring fire and a circle of a half dozen oversized upholstered chairs set slightly away from the hearth.

Harry had missed the warmth of Severus' hand as soon as he pulled away, and his nerves grew more rankled as he took a chair. Remus came to take the seat beside him and gave him a warm smile of reassurance. Severus sat across from him, of course. Harry nearly smiled as he recognized the potions master's standard tactic of positioning himself with the optimal view to get a read on Harry's mindset.

Severus' tension was in high gear as he watched the boy anticipate the impending announcement. He could tell that Lupin was antsy about the letter he'd received, but they'd checked that rather impressive Map and were so far free of uninvited visitors. "We're waiting on Lucius. Harry had wanted to include Albus, but I insisted we hear his information first, and have an opportunity to digest it amongst ourselves, before we invite the Headmaster, or for that matter, the Order, to weigh in," he told Lupin. The two of them held eye contact for a long stretch, and Severus surmised that Lupin was struggling with a feeling of disloyalty. "I would like to hear everything Mr. Potter has to tell us without censorship by Albus."

Harry watched the silent communication between Remus and his guardian, realizing they were not as edgy with each other as they often could be. _I must have missed something._ Well, he wasn't going to complain if Severus was already starting to grow up a bit, with regard to his attitude towards Remus. He was also noticing that his professor was calling him Harry more and more. That was a good thing, too. He took a deep breath as Lucius entered, strolling toward them with a slight degree of reserve. He still appeared to be suffering after effects from his final torture session under Voldemort's fury. Harry felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth as he watched the arrogant blond assess the open seats, as if to choose the best of what remained.

Lucius sought out Harry's eyes and nodded his greeting. "How are you faring, young man?" he asked carefully.

"Not great," Harry admitted. "You?"

Lucius smiled warmly enough that his eyes crinkled slightly, in spite of his unsettled sense that Harry knew him better than he should. "I'm recovering, and very much alive, thanks to you, Harry."

More than anything, Harry wished he didn't have to start the bonding process all over again with each of these wizards. He managed a nervous smile to acknowledge Lucius, but wasn't able to hold it for long. He gulped involuntarily and his chest tightened as he looked around at the three adults, who were now all seated and giving him their full attention. His leg jiggled nervously. "Er, there's so much to tell you all, I don't really know where to begin," he said shakily. He gulped again, feeling a sudden surge of nausea.

"Start wherever you are most comfortable," Severus advised with forced calm. He was ready to jump out of his skin at this point, having learned a valuable lesson today about taking Harry Potter at his word, and feeling as though he was waiting for the next chapter of their collective nightmare to begin.

Harry nodded, and took a deep breath. He stared at the floor in the center of their circle of chairs. "That was the second time I've destroyed Voldemort," he started in a tense voice. "The first time happened on Saturday, December twenty-eighth." He looked over at Remus, correctly assuming that Snape had told Lucius this bit of the story, but that it was news to the DADA professor as of yet. Remus' eyebrows were raised, and his expression horrified. "Bellatrix Lestrange hit me with a curse on January twenty-first that sent me back in time to this past Monday. I woke up from a nap to find out I'd just lost a month and… _so much_ along with it."

"Wait, Harry," Remus said, "before you reveal more, we should all be in agreement about what we are prepared to hear, and the responsibility we would be taking by hearing it, understand?"

Harry nodded quickly, glancing at Snape and Lucius, but turning back to Remus. "Things started happening differently right away. I've already seen how just giving a different answer to a simple question can impact the future."

Remus tilted his head, regarding Harry for a long moment as he processed the enormity of what he was hearing.

"I do not see that we have much choice, Lupin," Severus interjected, still managing his careful tone. "As Harry has indicated, the future as he knew it is already altered. Our refusal to hear what he knows, and has seen, leaves him to carry a very heavy burden on his own. Further, it could potentially handicap our responses to unexpected developments going forward."

"I agree," Remus said, nodding grimly, eyes on Harry. "And this is something that you are not, Harry. You are _not_ alone."

Harry sat back in his chair and stared at his knees for a long moment. "Actually I am alone, in a really big way."

"Why do you say that?" Severus asked, alarm bells sounding off in his mind.

Harry's eyes filled and his chest tightened as if someone had just sat heavily upon it. "Um, well, the other part of all of this, is that Voldemort made horcruxes," he told them shakily. "He made seven of them." Now he looked up at the other wizards. He met Lucius' startled eyes and blinked his own in a futile attempt to stem the floodgates that were about to open. "The diary was one." His throat closed on him then, and the tears finally toppled down his cheeks. He let them run unchecked as he struggled to admit the part that frightened him to the core, that detail he'd left his previous timeline not knowing how it would be resolved. He finally ducked his head to blot his face on the sleeve of his jumper, before he finished with. "My scar is one too."

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They were all on their feet now. Severus had come right for Harry, but Harry had warily guarded himself and stepped away, so that a large chair blocked Severus' access to him. The others were pacing blindly with shocked expressions, but Severus was focused on Harry.

"Let me comfort you, you little idiot," he said in exasperation. Every instinct he had told him to protect Harry first and foremost, above all other threats.

"It's not _a comfort_ if you still think I'm an idiot!" Harry said brokenly, hurt and misery written all over his face and inducing an element of heartbreak into the already horrifying revelations.

Severus could feel his expression softening, and struggled to speak around the large lump that had somehow lodged itself in his throat. "I called you a _little_ idiot," he said. "There's quite an exceptional difference between the two."

_"That's_ going to be your term of endearment for me this time around?" Harry rasped, not pleased that he felt a smile pulling at his mouth. He could feel another large chunk of his carefully constructed emotional barrier crumble away as he recognized the determination in Severus' expression.

"At the moment, yes," Severus said as he stepped around the chair, realizing he'd just been informed that he and Harry had grown quite close in Harry's previous experience. "Come here, Harry," he said gently, reaching a hand out to cup around the teen's head and tug him forward and into his arms. The boy was shaking as he leaned against Severus, as if he was quite familiar with being held by him. There was a preciousness about the moment that Severus wanted to relish, but at the same time, he was struck by the force of emotion that came up from depths that had been long buried, in response to the way Harry clung to him. The boy already needed him, already trusted something in Severus enough to be comforted. _But I have not yet earned this from him…_ He rested his chin on Harry's head and rubbed the boy's back, determined to quiet the shaking at the very least.

Harry leaned into Severus, feeling the firm pressure of his guardian's warm hand smoothing up and down his back, mixed in with intermittent squeezes, and it helped a bit. But he still felt alone. Severus didn't know him yet. He was starting to care now, and Harry knew the older wizard well enough to know this was the beginning of a rebuilding of their bond, but it wasn't there yet. The _last_ first hug that Harry had received had been an anomaly for Harry, as in, the first real embrace he could remember experiencing, other than the time Mrs. Weasley had held him, and he'd struggled with himself while it had gone on, not knowing how to accept comfort like this. But now he knew how to, and he hated how empty it still felt. The numbness settled back over him and he felt himself growing calmer as his emotions slipped beneath the haze of overwhelmed confusion in his mind. He could tell Severus sensed this shift in him, and allowed his guardian to guide him over to one of the two sofas that appeared to replace the chairs. Severus sat, pulling Harry down to sit beside him, and keeping an arm around Harry's shoulders.

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Remus had not been oblivious to the scene that had just played out between Severus and Harry. A part of him was heartened to see such a dramatic shift between his prickly fellow professor and that very special boy. If anyone could soften Severus, it was Harry. But for Remus, what he'd just watched play out served as a reinforcement of his own sense of lacking in that area. Remus adored Harry, and cherished knowing that Harry looked up to him in some ways. That mattered more than anything in his life right now. So, why hadn't _he_ been the one to give Harry a hug?

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Lucius sat on the second sofa so that he was opposite Harry and Severus. "Harry, did I repair your eyesight previously?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said. "You were just finishing the third charm when Voldemort possessed me and saw you through my eyes. He pulled me to him then, and when I got to him, he was in the Forbidden Forest, and he'd killed Fudge and kidnapped my muggle social worker, Rebecca Chase."

Severus craned his head so that he could see Harry's face. "Did she survive?" he asked.

"Yeah. Have you met her yet?" Harry asked, startled.

"I have," Severus told him, "and we have a meeting with her on Friday. My guardianship is contingent upon this."

"Oh," Harry said, distracted by this development.

Then Harry's previous words seemed to have registered with Severus. "The Minister of Magic was killed last time?"

"Yeah, and his replacement caused major problems," Harry said, deciding that any further information on this topic might need to remain unrevealed.

Lucius cleared his throat. "Harry?" he asked with a slightly impatient tone. "Was I successful? Is that why you don't seem to need to raise your wand at the sight of me?"

Harry shot a grin at Lucius. "It was a lot more than that, Mr. Malfoy." He looked around for Remus and saw his older friend standing off to the side, seemingly deliberately putting distance between himself and the group. Harry remembered that Remus was still only a week into his grief over Sirius and that he hadn't yet started to rebuild his life. He wondered if this was behind the odd energy he sensed from the wan Marauder. "By the time 'ol Bellatrix hit me with her curse, you three had pretty much handled a lot of drama that came up. Most of it was because of the horcruxes." He looked back at Lucius. "You had explained about the way the diary had influenced you, and when we encountered the next horcrux I could see what it did, and how much it unsettled you."

Lucius had a confused scowl on his face, and was still intermittently exhibiting tiny involuntary convulsive movements that were taking their toll on his patience. "Severus, how much longer before I can take the potions again?" he rasped.

"Has it been six hours since the last dosage?" Severus asked in an atypically obtuse manner.

_"It's been eight!"_ Lucius spat in exasperation, jumping to his feet and coming to take the three vials from Severus' outstretched free hand. He snatched them dramatically, downing each one in approximately ten-second intervals, and continuing to stand, waiting for them to give him full relief. "I will perform the healing charms again, straight away, Harry, as soon as this _treatment _takes effect. Why has it only reached _my feet?_ What kind of-"

"Perhaps if you could give it a _minute_ more, Lucius," Severus drawled, unable to resist paying Lucius back for his recent, albeit accurate, declarations about his behavior towards Harry. It was incredibly satisfying to hear the bark of laughter from Harry at this.

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Harry blinked a few times and sighed with deep relief. His eyesight was fully restored. "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," he said. His hand was currently fisted around his newly created Lucius-galleon as well. "Now at least we have some of the best of our tools back in place."

"I'm feeling like this is a tad anti-climactic, Harry," Lucius said with a clear degree of regret. "I meant it to be a significant gesture."

"It _is,_ sir, truly," Harry explained, careful to exude his genuine appreciation. "I actually have felt its significance _even more,_ in the last few days of being without it. You've given me a gift that enhances everything in my life. I'm much better at dueling, especially, because I can see people's faces now. And when I started classes again, I could see the board, and the like." He shook his head, muttering. "I'll be glad when it's February, so I can stop referring to the future in the past tense."

His response seemed to have satisfied the arrogant blond Slytherin. "That is gratifying to know," Lucius said humbly.

Severus cast a tempus charm. It was half five. Harry had pulled away to sit up straight while Lucius had healed his eyes. Severus lay a hand between his shoulder blades. "In spite of the alarmingly casual way you just mentioned dueling, young man, I will postpone my demand for explanation because we should eat. You, especially, Harry," he said. "What do you feel like?"

Harry was tempted to summon the ice cream sundae fountain again, but realized he wanted real food. _Pizza._


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: Wow…. I HATE not getting to write at least every two or three days. Hang in there with me! Hopefully I'll get the upper hand on my "real world" responsibilities this week and can update more frequently again within another week or so. This is a short-ish and possibly not well edited_****_ chapter_** (sorry!) to tide you over until I can squeeze out more time.

**_And so, on with the angst, and the "fractured state" of things…_**

Chapter 8 - EM-E - Fractured State - Part II

The Room had expanded to accommodate a buffet style dinner service which held a gigantic pepperoni pizza and a platter of lamb chops, roasted potatoes and carrots, and mint sauce. Remus attacked the pizza with Harry, ignoring the goading comments from Lucius and Severus about "adult choices" for dinner. Harry chuckled, in spite of his slowly returning tension, and Remus winked at him, taking two pieces of pizza and pausing as he glanced at a large square table that had appeared while they all loaded their plates.

"Molly sent a slew of lovely holiday treats home with me earlier today," Remus told Harry, facing him with his full plate. "It's a good bet that we'll not be interested in them tonight. Would you like to plan to spend some time together tomorrow, midday? Perhaps a subdued holiday celebration, to just relax and enjoy Molly's cooking?" Remus asked carefully. He desperately wanted to make sure Harry came away from this Christmas with a sense of how much he'd mattered to Sirius. He was relieved when Harry gave him a warm smile.

"That would be great, Remus," Harry said in a voice that was threatening to break. "I'd love to just hang out and listen to music. Maybe we could make it a tribute to Sirius. You could play the stuff he liked best, and maybe, I don't know, we could just let it be about him."

Remus managed to hold his composure. "That sounds ideal, Harry. It's a plan."

Harry gave him a watery smile and they made their way to the table to join Severus and Lucius. Harry was again aware that his guardian was observing him, and the sensation of feeling like he was closer to that sense of security he'd enjoyed so very recently was buzzing in his peripheral awareness, but the heavier weight of knowing that _Professor Snape_ was currently operating from a place of obligation to his deceased best friend's son, and nothing more, was actually rather crushing.

"Will you tell us what you know about the horcruxes, Harry?" Severus asked, deliberately waiting until Harry had eaten most of his third slice of pizza before making his request. He could see that the boy continued to be ill at ease, which was causing _Severus_ to feel ill at ease as well.

Harry set the remains of his pizza back onto his plate and wiped his mouth. His stomach plunged and the satisfying fullness he'd been feeling suddenly turned into a solid rock of displeasure in his stomach. "Yes, sir," he said, keeping his eyes on the table, his leg jiggling madly beneath it. "Voldemort created them using items that had some sort of meaning to him, some of it disdainful, I imagine." He gulped, knowing he needed to admit that he'd retrieved the locket when he'd gone to Grimmauld Place to avoid being paddled yesterday. "After my scar, and the diary, there's Salazar Slytherin's locket, the Hufflepuff chalice, the Ravenclaw diadem, some sort of possession that's buried under a floorboard in Tom Riddle's mother's family home in Little Hangleton, and Nagini. The diadem and the locket are here at Hogwarts. The Hufflepuff cup is in Bellatrix's vault at Gringott's. And that Gaunt family heirloom needs to be retrieved really soon. It had just been discovered when I got sent back in time. We'd destroyed the locket and the diadem by that point and had a plan to get the cup." He stopped, his agitation high as he replayed the events surrounding each of these phases in his now past-tense future. He looked up and found Severus watching him with narrowed eyes. He sighed. "They're really difficult to destroy, between the insane amount of dark magic holding them together and the fact that almost nothing can damage them, it's really…" he stopped, the heavy exhaustion of too many intense emotions taking a rapid toll. "Dumbledore had a theory that the inanimate ones needed to be destroyed first. And then Nagini, and then mine. I never found out why, but I'll bet that if Voldemort was still alive, Dumbledore's plan would be to kill the horcruxes first to get ol' Tom as weak as possible so he could be taken out."

"But _you_ were able to destroy the Dark Lord, Harry, without first destroying the horcruxes," Lucius said. "How is that possible?"

Harry shot a look at Severus and Remus. "Well, that's another big development. Er, I started sensing my wild magic again on the last timeline when Remus brought me here that first day," Harry explained. When all three adult wizards had obvious intention to ask him to explain, he held up a hand. "It's that magic that we all have as children. You know, the wandless, nearly unconscious magic that seems to just go away at some point? I think that Voldemort tapped into his, because I'm certain that's how he got past the school wards earlier." He looked at Snape. "And, somehow it triggered mine, and I've learned to use it in a few ways. It's how I managed to leave the scene yesterday…"

"So, you wouldn't call that _disapparating?"_ Severus asked carefully. He could tell that Harry was extremely nervous about the subject matter and now, of course, Severus was terribly intrigued. _I'll bet this was a bone of contention between us in the other timeline._

"No, sir," Harry was responding. "It is a far more gentle experience. It's literally like slipping into a different dimension, or something. Like a tear in the fabric of reality, so to speak. I've started thinking of it as _portholing."_

_"Portholing?"_ Lucius repeated with a smirk. "Hmmmm."

"Where did you go, when you _portholed,_ Mr. Potter?" Severus asked.

"Headquarters," Harry said.

Remus was frowning, picking up on both Harry's tension and Severus' zeroing in on it, all the while struggling to comprehend that his young friend was describing a very unique ability. "What do we need to know about the appropriate next steps, Harry?" he asked, directing a narrow-eyed glower at Severus, and determined to derail whatever confrontation his colleague was intent on having with Harry.

But Harry was still directing his attention to Severus. "I knew the locket was there. You and I had gone there on a whim in the last timeline and had surprised Mundungus Fletcher in the act of looting the place. The locket was in a sack of stuff he'd taken, and it _called to us,_ you might say. We realized it was a problem and brought it back here to destroy. This time, I had Kreacher get it for me and he brought me back here. I didn't touch it. I put it in the Chamber of Secrets for safe keeping."

Severus had felt his jaw drop and quickly snapped it shut, his brow furrowing under the weight of the excessive alarm at what the boy had just admitted.

Harry saw that Snape was nearly ready to bite his head off, so he launched into the rest of his speech, crossing his fingers under the table that the potions master would believe him. "I _know_ how dangerous that was. _I know._ But I couldn't risk Mundungus getting it and leaving with it to go pawn off somewhere, and I wasn't exactly thinking I could tell _you_ about it at that particular time." Now Severus' eyes were narrowing, and Harry's tension soared, but he stood his ground and glared at the potions master. "I couldn't just leave it there! The horcruxes convert people into Mini Voldemorts." He glanced at Lucius and Remus and was greeted with speechless shock. "And… that's it for my independent activity, I promise. I don't want to do any more of it alone." His voice broke when he said _alone_. He clenched his jaw and waited.

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Severus intentionally allowed his expression to be stern as he regarded Harry. He reminded himself that he ultimately owed Harry a life-debt for killing Voldemort's corporeal form today, but he could hardly pay that debt to a dead fifteen-year-old Boy Wonder, now could he? Recalling that he'd just learned a very valuable lesson about taking Harry at his word, he had a decision to make about trusting this new promise of Harry's to take no more action on his own. Severus needed to process his thoughts and speak with the boy in private, and handle this properly. That decided, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, all the while staring down young Harry Potter a few moments longer, until he finally relented, turning his head to address the other two wizards, "And now, where do you each stand on bringing Albus into this?"

Lucius had also been watching Harry during the battle of wills between his best friend and the young wizard. He instinctively needed to know as much as possible about what their encounters with these dark objects would entail. The last time he'd had one in his possession, he'd passed it off to an eleven year-old witch and caused her unspeakable trauma. He flashed a look at Remus and saw that the last Marauder was still weighing his response. Finally, Lucius replied to Severus, but kept his eyes on Harry as he spoke, "I would trust Harry's judgement on that, Severus. Harry, was Albus involved at this point on the other timeline?"

"Yeah," Harry said shakily. "It worked out well, because he arrived when the rest of you did, in time to witness me destroying Voldemort, and he was able to take that right to the Wizengamot, and they started dismantling Fudge's power structure. It took weeks to get him reinstated as Headmaster, even with all of that working out. But I don't see how that could happen this time. Which means Fudge still can interfere here, and he could bring Umbridge back." _And, once again, it's a bloody good thing I'm going to be emancipated._

"But, you would still opt to bring Albus in immediately," Severus concluded.

Harry nodded. "We need him," he said frankly. He felt overwhelmed again. This Dumbledore still had to be put in his place. _Merlin._

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They adjourned shortly thereafter so that Harry could get more rest. The current plan was to inform Albus tomorrow when he made his scheduled Boxing Day visit. Severus made it clear he wanted a private moment with Harry, so Lucius and Remus made to leave.

Lucius bowed to Harry formally, which induced an exhausted but amused smile from the young Griffindor. "I'm in your debt Harry."

Harry batted his eyes in an exaggerated attempt to remind the older wizard of the remarkable gift he'd just given Harry, again. "Not so much, actually," he said, and received an amused snort from the blond Slytherin as he turned to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Harry," Remus said at the door to the fifth floor corridor. He gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze and when the boy met his eyes, let Harry see the depth of his affection.

Severus waited until they were alone to address his next concern with his ward. "I would like you to move into my quarters, Harry," he said carefully. "I don't think you should be alone with all of your burdens any longer. I had Lupin install a room for you last night."

Harry looked up at him in alarm. "Not yet. Please?" he begged. He was ragged with exhaustion now, and could not fathom how he could possibly survive being completely confined in those quarters when the mean version of his guardian resurfaced, as it had in the past/future. Severus was frowning at him, so he tried to explain, "You'll want to strangle me. I can't go through that, not on top of all of this."

Severus blinked, realizing he had no credibility to back up any promises he may make to watch his temper around the boy. "I am genuinely concerned about you being alone," he tried to explain. "I don't want you to hide your misery if you are feeling badly."

Harry didn't believe that was all his guardian was trying to prevent. "It took about three solid weeks of us being civil to each other last time before you had Remus put a room in for me, and by then school had started so it wasn't something I used every night."

Severus tilted his head. "I see no issue with you returning to your dorm when the new term begins, but in the meantime, I'd prefer to monitor your distress," he stepped closer to the boy and put heavy hands on Harry's shoulders, keeping his voice neutral when he asked, "You're not alone with this any longer. Do you still intend to keep things from me?"

Harry pulled away. "Please listen to me!" he rasped in desperation now. "I'm telling you, I'm not going to handle you snapping at me for getting on your nerves very well. We'll both be glad I can go to my dorm to be alone when it happens next."

"And I'm telling _you,_ you could just as easily retreat to your bedroom in my chambers _if_ that happens," Severus said, still managing the calmness.

Harry clenched his jaw, but tears rolled down his cheeks even still. "I'll feel _trapped._ I'm telling you, I'm going to _lose it_, really _lose it,_ if things get any worse."

Severus frowned now. "And why would they get worse, now that your secrets are revealed? What are you not saying?"

"I'm saying…" Harry faltered. He didn't know why his instincts were driving him to stand his ground on this matter, but there was a very strong sense of panic bolstering his resolve. "I'm saying, I've got all I can handle as it is."

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Severus had relented, but was now very unsettled by what Harry had claimed. He was currently walking the boy back to Gryffindor Tower, and the tension in Harry's posture made him wary about attempting to comfort him further. He did not back off, however, when they reached the common room, and proceeded to follow Harry up the stairs and stood by while the boy went to change into pajamas. _I need to be more alert to what he's saying to me,_ Severus worried. He reviewed, albeit in a fast-forward recap, the claims the boy had made in recent days. He'd spoken of the _hell_ his life was, of a lifelong _struggle_ with being kept where he was not wanted, and today when he'd told Lupin about Bella's curse, he'd said he'd _lost so much._

Harry returned, moving groggily toward the bed and clearly using his last thread of awareness to accomplish this. Severus stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop.

"Now that I know as much as I do, Harry, it will be much easier for me to be in a better temper around you," Severus said. "If you knew me well enough to call me Severus in the other timeline, you probably know this about me as well, hmmm?" He resisted the temptation to give Harry a hug, instead putting a hand on his shoulder and stepping aside to allow him access to the bed. As the boy crawled under the covers, he added, "I will not push you to _lose it."_ Now he pulled the blankets and comforter up and around Harry's shoulders, tucking them so that no gaps would allow a chill to creep in, and lay his hand on the boy's head. Harry's eyes drooped heavily.

Severus pulled the desk chair over to the bed. "Would you like a dreamless sleep drought?" Severus asked.

"Your special recipe?" Harry murmurred, already nearly asleep.

That brought a smile to Severus' face, but the boy didn't see it. He quickly summoned the potion and slid his hand beneath Harry's neck to lift him so that he could drink it. "Sleep well," Severus said. He nearly called the boy _Young Harry,_ for some reason, when his snarky sense of humor suggested he call him _my little idiot_, but the moment was lost and the boy was already in deep slumber.


	9. Chapter 9

**_A/N: I wrote this in little pockets of free moments. Consider it a bridge to a new segment of the plot. Peril is in the making, that much is certain._**

Chapter 9 - EM-E - Fractured State - Part III

As was now becoming a habit, Severus sat watching over Harry for at least an hour before feeling assured the boy would sleep for a solid night. It was barely eight o'clock when he returned to his quarters to think things through. When he stepped out of the floo, he was surprised to see the former Headmaster waiting for him in his leather armchair.

"Albus," he greeted warily, taking a seat on the sofa and facing his mentor with an expression that openly revealed his conflicting anger and shame, much of it being tied in with the elderly wizard's oversight of Harry's upbringing. _Careful with that,_ he warned himself, _it's entirely hypocritical of you to accuse him of neglecting Harry, when you have done not only _that _yourself, but have also been abusive and cruel to the boy._

"Are you alright, Severus?" Albus asked in concern. "Has something happened?"

"A great deal has happened, Albus," Severus said. "I'm not certain which is the most important development to relay to you." He held the former Headmaster's gaze.

"Is Harry alright?"

"I can't say that he is," Severus said. "Albus, Harry destroyed Voldemort's corporeal body today."

Albus' eyes widened and his eyebrows shot upward. "How did this come to be?"

"I've yet to get full details," Severus admitted, "but both he and Lucius were transported to the Dark Lord, here on the grounds. Voldemort tortured Lucius and assaulted Harry to some degree. Harry somehow utilized his peripheral magic to break Voldemort's neck, and then transformed his body into brittle matter which he blasted and banished." He watched the way Albus was absorbing this information and could see his mentor was flabbergasted. "He's spent much of the day recovering his strength, but we did have an opportunity to hear more from the boy. He informed us that there are horcruxes, and that there were seven originally."

"How could he know all of this?" Albus asked in open shock.

"Did _you_ know all of this?" Severus snapped angrily. "Did you know his scar was one?"

"I had my suspicions, Severus," Albus admitted heavily. "Harry did say the other day that he knew so much more than we realized…"

"He's known he had a very strong connection to Voldemort since last summer," Severus said severely. "He apparently tried to talk to you about it, but your distant attitude discouraged him. And it's clear that he felt he had no one else to turn to." _And that is where I also played my role._ "Albus, this entire scenario is further complicated by the fact that Harry has experienced an episode of time travel, induced by a curse from the Dark Lord's favorite psychopathic witch. He's already lived through these holidays, and well into January, and so had already experienced these difficulties. I've just left him to sleep through the night, but not until he indicated his fear of his own fragility at how much he's managing as of now." Severus could feel his eyes reddening, and was further induced to feel sadness by the sight of Albus' emotions. He rubbed at the his eyes, struggling to hold his composure.

"We must be very careful with him, Severus," Albus warned, ducking his head to blot his own eyes with a conjured handkerchief.

"I find that statement quite ironic, old man," Severus said, the anger resurfacing to add a hostile edge to his tone. "The wards fell at Privet Drive because Harry and his aunt went into muggle London to petition for legal Emancipation. Petunia released custodial responsibility of the boy, and made her sentiments where he is concerned very, very clear." He clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. "He has not yet admitted to details, but Harry has indicated that he was mistreated by the Dursleys. I wonder how much of this you suspected? Why were you keeping him there, Albus? To toughen him up?"

Albus rose to his feet and walked slowly over to the mantle, where he lay his hand and pressed his forehead against it. "To some extent, yes, but I…" he paused. "I was not aware that things were bad enough there to require such a drastic action." He turned back to the younger wizard. "Severus, Harry needs a legal guardian immediately-"

"It's handled," Severus said. "I have myself taken that responsibility, conditional upon an interview with a muggle social worker on Friday. As of now, the Ministry of Magic appears to not yet be aware of this state of affairs. I suspect that Minister Fudge had been tipped off that all was not well at Privet Drive, because he made an unannounced visit to the house on Monday, but alas, was too late to speak to Petunia."

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At nine o'clock the following morning, Severus stood before the newly added stretch of wall space in his sitting room with eyes narrowed, lost in contemplation. He was viewing his brand new copy of the Marauder's Map, compliments of Remus Lupin, who'd delivered it last evening, in time to encounter Albus, and to disclose that he'd made a plan to spend some time with Harry today for a modified memoriam to Black. Severus suspected that Lupin had provided that detail to discourage him from interfering, or objecting, neither of which held any appeal anyway.

At the moment, Severus was watching Harry Potter's marker on the map maintain a state of idleness, which the boy had engaged for nearly an hour now, after returning to his dorm room from the shower, where he'd also spent about an hour. He had multiple concerns to address with young Mr. Potter, all of which were contingent upon Severus' own ability to earn the boy's trust, his _genuine_ trust.

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_Tap tap tap._

Harry blinked repeatedly, turning distracted eyes to see his guardian had entered his dorm room.

"Good morning. Have you eaten?" Severus asked.

"No, sir," Harry responded quietly.

Severus jerked his head toward the door. "Come, have some breakfast with me. I've not yet eaten, either."

Harry felt deep reluctance to move from where he'd been seated in the small windowed alcove near his bed. He'd felt like he was hauling around an extra hundred pounds of baggage since he'd awoken, feeling foggy and down, a couple of hours prior. He looked over at the older dark haired wizard, who was now tilting his head and frowning slightly at Harry's hesitation. Not really interested in a battle of wills, he stood slowly and made his way over to Severus. By the time he reached his guardian, Severus was raising his hand in the familiar way that meant he would rest it on Harry's neck, and Harry let him.

At the fireplace, Severus pulled Harry close to his side and draped an arm around his shoulders. He flooed them both down to his quarters, aware again of the familiarity the boy seemed to have with what should have been an unfamiliar gesture. He guided the boy into the kitchen and they sat down to a light breakfast that neither of them had any interest in eating.

Harry was aware of Severus' tension, but he was also aware that there was no visible sign of the wretched _Snape_ side of his guardian's nature at the moment. "Why have you not eaten yet, sir?" he asked.

Severus inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly before answering. "Because I took a short trip to Little Whinging this morning, to gather some facts, so to speak. I toured through the house, taking note that there was no sign of _you_ there. Except in a sparsely decorated bedroom upstairs, and in the cupboard under the stairs." When Harry sat back in his seat, expression registering deep dread, Severus continued softly, "I respect your desire to speak nothing of your experience in the Dursley's home, Harry, but I believe it would behoove us both if I at least am prepared for our interview tomorrow with Madam Chase. When I spoke to her on Tuesday, she indicated that she was convinced you had withheld disclosure about your experiences there." Severus stopped, reading a shift in Harry's expression.

"That happened last time, too," Harry admitted. "Sir, Rebecca Chase is Dean Thomas' aunt." When Severus' eyebrows shot upward, Harry added, "And she recognized my name, and yours, from things Dean had told her about each of us. She'll probably tell us that tomorrow. Last time, I told her that I needed to be emancipated because of the danger in the Wizarding world, which she'd also heard about, and she didn't press much further."

Severus clenched his jaw for a moment before trying once again to formulate his request for more substantial information about Harry's childhood. "If she were to find out about the way you were treated by your relatives, would she want to alert the muggle authorities?"

Harry blanched. He _hated_ the wash of cold sweat that came over him whenever this particular truth came too close to the surface. But he knew Severus would persist if he didn't relent and just answer the question. He remembered how kind Severus had been in the last timeline when the Prophet had published the exposé about his childhood. Even still, his mouth quivered and nausea bubbled upward into his stomach. He opened his mouth to speak, but found himself panicking, and clamped it shut again.

"Harry?" Severus asked carefully.

Harry ducked his head and gripped his hair with both fists. "Yes! Alright?" he rasped, angry at himself for being rude, but hating having to let this horrible shame come to the light. "They would be in trouble for the way they've treated me." He looked up at Severus and saw shock on the older wizard's face. "And I already feel like enough of a loser on my own, without having to tell other people about how pathetic-" he couldn't say the rest. His throat had clamped shut. He cast his gaze off to the side and swallowed hard.

Severus reached across the table and grasped both of Harry's wrists, inducing the boy to look up at him with an expression that was heartbreaking to witness. "You've said enough," he said calmly. "I disagree with your conviction that telling other people will make you look pathetic, but I understand how you've come to that conclusion because, while unrealistic, it would be the conclusion that I would have made in similar circumstances." He waited, watching the way his ward battled to push this aspect of his life back down into the deep recesses of him mind. "So, when we meet with Madam Chase tomorrow, we will focus on the danger presented by the Dark Lord and the Ministry of Magic."

Harry nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "Thanks." He looked up at Severus again when his guardian had released his wrists. "I wrote her a letter and had Dobby take it to her office Monday night. She'd probably read it already by the time you saw her." A smile tugged unexpectedly at the corner of his mouth. "Last time around, the two of you became friends. She helped us get an MRI of my scar in January." Harry went ahead and told Severus about the _divot_ that had shown up on the MRI, and the conclusion that they'd come to that Harry's horcrux should be destroyed by putting basilisk venom on it, and that Harry would have to shield the rest of himself while the procedure was underway.

"No wonder you're overwhelmed," Severus murmured. He reached for a couple of slices of toast and served himself a small portion of eggs and sausages while he wrestled down the surge of panic at this information. _A divot?_ He glanced back at the boy and was pleased that Harry seemed more at ease at his low key reaction, and was now also serving himself a small amount of food. Severus cleared his throat. "I understand you'll be spending time with Lupin later today?"

Harry's eyes shot up to meet his. "Yeah," he said quickly. "I forgot to tell you. Is that going to be alright?"

"It is," Severus said. "Other than to plan to dine with me nightly, I believe it is wise to set a ground rule that you keep your map, galleon and cloak with you at all times when you are outside of these quarters or your common area. But, as I now have a copy of the Map, I will have a visual of your whereabouts at any given time moving forward, I see no reason to place restrictions on your movement within the castle. I still have significant concern that Minister Fudge will show up unannounced." He could see that this statement triggered a reflection for Harry. "What are you thinking?"

"Fudge did show up on Friday of this week last time," Harry confirmed. "We should be prepared for that sort of thing at any given moment, actually."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

"I have a gift for you, Harry," Remus announced later that afternoon, after they'd feasted on a variety of Molly's meat pies and sweets. He handed a small package to Harry with a subdued version of his warm smile.

Harry opened the wrappings and found a handbook of spells. _"The Auror's Guide to Practical Investigative Magic,"_ he read aloud with a grin. He turned it over and saw the imprint of the Great Britain Ministry of Magic. "Wicked!"

"It's one of the official manuals for first year auror training," Remus explained, lighting up immediately at Harry's reaction. "I had Dora purchase it under her name, which is of course against the rules, so you'll have to guard it carefully." He nodded at the book, adding, "There are several quite inventive spells in there that I'll bet you'll find useful. The one that is actually my favorite can't be used within the school due to the extensive protective enchantments in the castle, so you'll have to give it a try off campus, once you're emancipated."

"Which one is that?" Harry asked, flipping through the pages.

"The _portable peekhole_ charm," Remus said. "It requires some transfiguration as well as charm work to master, but you'll handle it, no doubt. You can use it to see through walls and doors. As an auror, you'd utilize it before entering a premises that you intend to search."

"Thanks, Remus," Harry said. "It's brilliant."

"You're welcome, Harry."

"I've got something for you as well," Harry said, somewhat hesitantly. He'd just found the gift he'd planned for Remus earlier in the term, but had forgotten all about when the Ministry debacle had changed everything. He handed it over to the older wizard, explaining as Remus unwrapped a twin photo frame with only one photo in it, "I'd planned for us to get a newer photo together for the other frame. We still can, when school resumes. Colin will be happy to help with that."

Remus smiled at the image of him with Harry in the Great Hall during Harry's third year. It was a candid photo, so neither of them was facing the camera, but they were sharing a hearty laugh and Remus was wiping his eyes. "I don't remember this. What were we laughing at?"

Harry snickered. "Draco was showing off his _Carpe Retractum _spell, only he'd messed up and had just flung a bowl of spotted dick all over Goyle."

"Ah yes," Remus said with a chuckle. "I most certainly look forward to more of that sort of entertainment."

"Can't wait," Harry agreed.

"Thank you, Harry. I'll want that second photo as soon as we can manage it." He'd definitely come out of his earlier gloominess now, thanks to Harry. "Let's try of few of those spells in your handbook, shall we?" Remus suggested.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

It was nearing the dinner hour when Severus received his first message from Harry through their galleons, suggesting he join them in Lupin's quarters for a little while before dinner. He arrived to find Harry stretched out on the floor near the fireplace, listening to a muggle LP on Lupin's record-player. Severus rolled his eyes at the sounds of Bread's _Make It With You_ playing in the background, but changed his expression when he saw the pained angst in Harry's profile. The boy was lost in thought, and staring up at the high ceiling of Lupin's sitting room.

Severus took a seat on the small sofa, accepting a cup of tea from Lupin with a murmured _thank you._ "What have you two been up to today?" he asked, eyes on Harry, wondering where the boy's thoughts had taken him.

Remus sat in the squashy armchair opposite the sofa. "We've done some reminiscing, practiced a bit of magic," Remus started.

"Ate a bunch of holiday treats," Harry added. He sat up and faced the older wizards with his back to the dwindling fire. When he met Severus' eyes, he saw concern, and that made him a tad nervous, even while a warm feeling of reassurance flowed through him. "I realized I should tell you more about some things that happened on the last timeline. For some reason, I'm doubting they'll play out the same way this time, but I reckon it would pay to be prepared." He smirked at Severus' sarcastically raised eyebrow. "The Ravenclaw diadem is hidden in the Room of Requirement. Last time around, several people went looking for it and we didn't figure it out until it was too late." He stopped, biting his lip. "I don't think I should tell you about that part yet, but the part I do think you should hear right now is that on the first day of the new term, Wormtail smuggled himself back into the school. I believe he hitchhiked onto the Hogwarts Express and got in that way. We managed to catch him up in the fifth floor hallway that same night. And we never really talked about it, but now I'm realizing he knew about the diadem, and probably knows it's a horcrux. That could mean he knows what the others are, or _where_ they are…"

Both Severus and Remus had grown tense at this, not only for the newly realized threat, but because each of them loathed Wormtail for his own reasons, as did Harry.

"I would rather set an aggressive offense against that squirmy little rodent, than wait to see what he presents, and only then attempt to defend against it," Severus said, directing the comment to Lupin, but also including Harry by returning his attention to the boy.

"I would, as well," Remus said. "As Harry has pointed out, no one officially knows that Voldemort is dead. His closest allegiances will have likely begun to panic at the sudden silence. It is only a matter of time before another resurrection is attempted."

"Agreed," Severus said, nodding. "Harry, the Headmaster made a surprise visit last night after you'd gone to sleep."

"Oh," Harry said. "So, he knows?"

"He was given an overview," Severus replied, tension more visible now. "I am feeling more inclined to agree with you at this point that we will indeed need him." He looked at Lupin, who nodded in agreement.

"Good," Harry said. "Last time around I was the one who didn't want to trust him." He searched his guardian's unsettled expression and relaxed enough to smile a small smile. "It's a bit strange, to hear myself saying that. Last time around, it was _you_ who had to convince me." He remembered something suddenly. "It may seem trivial, but it's related, and I promised Kreacher." He explained that he needed to purchase a duplicate locket for the curmudgeonly elf, to replace the horcrux.

Severus nodded slowly, eyes narrowing as he considered an idea. "We can get this handled immediately," he said. "And I know just where to go for it. We'll send Lucius."


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/N: I'm still not out of that rough and heavy load of work, but I managed to get this done. ;-) Hopefully only about 10 more days of this ridiculous infringement on my writing time._**

Chapter 10 - EM-E - Harsh Reality - Part I

Harry was silent at dinner with Severus. The tension level was minimal, but as was becoming the pattern for Harry when he experienced fewer distractions, the muffled effect on his emotional state set back in.

"Are you alright?" Severus asked quietly. "I imagine you still do not have much appetite if you were snacking this afternoon."

"It's not that," Harry said. He suddenly felt utterly deflated. His jaw worked and he kept his eyes focused on the tabletop. "It's just that so much happened. So much awful, scary stuff, pretty much on a daily basis on the last timeline, and …it's been really hard on this one too, and I never got a chance to feel sad about Sirius. It already feels like it happened so long ago, and I've just been going along, like it didn't happen at all."

"I see," Severus said carefully. "But you cannot hold yourself responsible for having had no time to grieve."

"I know," Harry whispered. "But today it sort of hit me. I feel like I've done something wrong."

"It sounds to me as though you have been coping the best way you can. There is no right or wrong way to grieve, Harry. As long as you don't push your emotions down when you have a chance to deal with them." Severus paused, realizing he was _definitely_ not an expert on this matter. "Or, so I'm told. And it's alright to let it hit you right now." He stood, determined to help his ward with this. "Come, you don't have to force down dinner if you don't want it."

Harry stood too, finally looking at Severus with pain-filled eyes. "Can I go up to my dorm?" he asked in a voice that broke on the last word.

That hadn't been what Severus had in mind of course, but he still had a long way to go to earn this boy's trust. "Once again, I am concerned with you being alone with your sorrows, young man."

"But I _am_ alone with this, sir," Harry said fiercely, lip quivering and eyes filling.

Severus stepped over to the boy and pulled him close by cupping a hand around his head and draping a heavy arm down his back. "You are not entirely alone, Harry. I am not indifferent to how awful that final moment was," he said grimly, resting his chin on Harry's head. "I have been struggling with my own reactions to that event since it happened. There was no love lost between your godfather and I, but I would not have wished such an end upon him." He squeezed the lean body of his teenaged ward tightly but the boy was tense and trembling, and not yielding to Severus' attempts to comfort him. "I have some idea of the enormity of what you have experienced in his passing. You do not have to hide your feelings about your loss from me, understand?"

Harry wanted with all of his heart to feel that sense of belonging and mattering again, and there was a slight snippet of it here in this moment. But it was not enough to make a difference when held up beside the price he'd already paid to bond with Severus once, only to have lost it, and to have to start fresh. He knew all too well that if he gave in and started to depend on Severus, he'd get his feelings hurt again, and that seemed like it could lead to a very real breaking point for Harry. It would kill him if Severus turned on him again. But even still, he didn't want to make things worse by outright rejecting the older wizard when he was going to such lengths to bridge the gap between them. He hugged Severus back and tried to calm his shaking.

"Are you conflicted about my having taken over your guardianship?" Severus asked. "We haven't even discussed this, have we?"

"I'm okay with it," Harry said into Severus' shoulder. He stared at the kitchen wall, trying to get a grip on his emotions so that his guardian would believe he was feeling better.

"Now, why would that be?" Severus asked with bald irony. He still had his chin resting on Harry's head, having his own emotional response to being embraced by his ward. Severus hadn't had anyone in his life to be demonstrative with since Lily. Initiating comforting hugs was a natural instinct that he'd stifled for most of his life. The slow surge of that reemerging instinct was having an impact on his consciousness, and being on the receiving end of an embrace was also touching his heart in a long forgotten way.

"You'll see, sir," Harry said in a strained voice. He needed to be alone with all of this. He took a deep breath and said, "I feel like I need to lay down," as he pulled away and looked up at his guardian.

"Very well," Severus agreed against his better judgement, but he already knew he'd check on his young ward repeatedly over the coming night. He palmed his wand and waved it over his right hand, producing a vial of dreamless sleep potion.

"Thanks," Harry said, flashing a weak smile at Severus.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Friday morning, Lucius arrived at Severus' door with a self satisfied smirk on his face.

"I suppose that you are feeling better about your marriage this morning?" Severus asked. Lucius had spent Boxing Day with his wife and son, and obviously had relayed the news of the Dark Lord's demise. Severus knew full well that his friend had been suffering under a burden of fear that he'd lost Narcissa, and by extension Draco, because of his struggles with his dual role of Death Eater and supporter of the Light.

"I am," Lucius agreed. "Narcissa and Draco will return on the weekend, and we will work at rebuilding our lives together. It is understood that I will be involved in the removal of Voldemort's remaining _influences_. Narcissa is not foolish enough to believe that the Dark Lord did not have yet another contingency plan. She understands there must be further steps taken to prevent another resurrection. The fact that I am no longer acting as a slave, but instead as a freedom fighter is quite appealing to her. Imagine such a thing." The last he said with a wink.

Severus snorted. "Lovely." He gave his friend a serious look. "I am happy for you, Lucius. I know the toll that you've paid, along with your son and wife."

There was a sudden moment of sentiment, and neither of them could speak the unspoken, and as yet uncollected, words to express the depth of gratitude they each had for the gift that Harry had given them. _Freedom._

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

_"__What the bloody, bleeding, buggaring hell is the problem?" _

On the stairs, climbing the last several steps to Harry's dorm, Severus raised an eyebrow at the outburst that came through the passage, and girded himself for an unexpected encounter with a tantrum-yielding Potter. "Language, Mr Potter," he chided as he entered the dorm.

Harry snapped his head up, and blinked as he slowly registered that Severus was carrying his heavy jacket and trainers. The ones he'd just spent the past fifteen minutes trying to summon from Privet Drive. "Oh!" he said in relief. "Sorry, sir. I was trying to summon those, and it wasn't happening, so I was thinking I'd lost the ability."

"Ah," Severus said, handing the items over to his ward, and somewhat taken aback at the sudden shift in Harry's demeanor. "But they were not where you'd left them."

Harry smirked and shook his head. "Sir, is this all that you moved in my cupboard?" Harry asked.

_My cupboard._ Severus was unable to prevent the grimace of shock at this label for the slanted, dusty and cold storage cubby that had been the boy's room. "It is," Severus said carefully. "Why do you ask?"

Harry smiled at him, unaffected by his guardian's expression because he was distracted by his intense need to reassure himself that he still had this one skill. _"Ferre army man,"_ Harry said, giving his wand a small swish and directing it at the surface of his newly made bed. A small green plastic figure that was missing an arm appeared on the spread.

Severus recognized it as one he'd seen, sitting among a few other sparse items inside the cupboard. "How did you learn to do that?" he asked in shock.

"You taught me," Harry said, grinning. "I had trouble at first, because I was trying to do it either just with wild magic or just with my wand, but after a while, I learned to use both for some types of spells. Like long distance summoning of sturdy things. Fragile things get summoned just with my wild magic."

"I see," Severus said, although he actually didn't. He watched while Harry sat down to put on and lace up his shoes. "What else have I taught you, pray tell?"

"Some great defense spells," Harry said. "And between you and Remus, I've got a pretty good sense of how to defend myself against stronger wizards."

"And you've had an opportunity to test this theory?" Severus asked with reluctance.

"We had a lot of incidents," Harry informed him matter of factly. "Another version of you thinks I've got great instincts. Just so you know."

Severus was amused at this declaration, but alarmed by it as well. He withheld comment, raising a questioning eyebrow instead. He assessed the boy's attire, noticing that Harry wore the pair of jeans from the other day and a white school uniform shirt with his school tie. When Harry had put his jacket on, he asked, "Are you nervous about this encounter?"

Harry blinked. "Well, I wasn't until now," he said with a frown.

Severus smirked and led the boy out of the room. "While we're out, would you like to go shop for some new clothes? We'd have to stick to muggle London, so no new robes just yet." he tempered the question as casual, hoping he wasn't offending his ward.

"That would be great!" Harry said, nerves forgotten. "And when I get back, I'm going to burn every bloody thread of Dudley's pig-sized rags," he added under his breath.

"We could have a formal ceremony, if you'd like," Severus suggested drily.

This time when he put his arm around Harry to lead him through the floo, he gave the boy a squeeze while he was at it.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

As before, Severus led Harry through their secure floo sequence, followed by the _apparation_ into the parking structure for the London Child Protection Agency. Their eleven o'clock appointment with Rebecca Chase went uncannily similarly to the one on the previous timeline. She made the same announcements of what she knew of the Wizarding World, and asked Harry about the now long gone knot on his head. When she acknowledged Harry's letter, she suggested that the Dursleys be investigated, but Harry quickly let her know that this would prove a challenge, as his relatives were now in hiding (he conveniently omitted the fact that this would end soon since Voldemort was basically dead). This was the only real moment that was different. Madam Chase again expedited the next stages of the Emancipation filing, walking them through each department until it was completed. Harry even had his ID card in his pocket when they'd concluded.

Harry assumed his having written the letter was what triggered the unexpected development that Madam Chase wanted to see them again in one week. "In normal situations, I would make a site visit, to assess you two in your home together," she explained. "I will settle for a visit next Friday. Are you in agreement to comply?"

"Of course," Severus said with a slight bow, and Harry realized his guardian was unfazed by the request.

"Wonderful," Madam Chase returned. She gave Harry a warm smile. "I'm curious to know how you got your letter to me, Harry."

Harry scrunched up his face. "Er, can we just leave it at: _with magic?"_ he asked hopefully.

"As long as you give me your word that you didn't somehow break in here to deliver it yourself," she returned.

"No, I didn't," Harry said quickly. He flashed a look at Severus and muttered, "I only break into places when someone else is in danger." He received an acknowledging squeeze from the warm hand on his neck.

"Then I will see you both in a week's time."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Severus took Harry to a nearby cafe for lunch, and while they waited for their food, he suggested they go to Harrod's for their shopping. Harry agreed and promised to make short work of the task because he remembered all of the items he'd purchased previously and wanted the exact same mix. He also told Severus that he'd learned the shrinking charm after their last shopping spree.

"And I think that's everything you taught me," Harry summarized. He flashed onto the conjured bear spell, and grinned to himself.

"Except for the one that you're deciding to keep to yourself for now?" Severus surmised. He was enjoying their time together, and pleased that Harry had stayed fairly lighthearted throughout the day thus far.

"Well, you didn't actually teach it to me," Harry told him his eyes drifting off over Severus' shoulder as he remembered the _Ursa giga_ spell he'd cast to get Nagini away from Betsy Charron. "You demonstrated it, so to speak, and then told me not to use it. But there was a moment where I was in a tight spot and I couldn't think of anything else to do. It _sort of_ worked." He shook his head and looked back at Severus, finding his guardian watching him with a blended expression of amusement and trepidation. "Sir, if you are up to teaching me some new magic, could you show me how you develop your own spells?"

That caught Severus off guard. Yes, he was enjoying this easy time with Harry Potter, but this was a far cry from actually attempting to teach the boy, rather than antagonize him as he'd done for four and a half years. "You would trust me in such a situation?" he asked carefully.

Now Harry was caught off guard. He realized he was jumping the gun in a sense, by expecting Severus to step comfortably into the role of instructor after all of their bad history. He scratched his head and averted his face as the wave of sadness swept back over him. "I guess I would, at some point," he said helplessly. He lost enthusiasm for the idea. "I suppose I should worry more about my holiday assignments first."

"There would be time for both," Severus said, ignoring the guilty clench in his stomach that was the response to the quick shift in Harry's demeanor. "We will take small steps."

Harry nodded. Their food was served just then, allowing an easy diversion from the topic altogether.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

It was nearly five o'clock when Severus led Harry back to the area in the parking garage that was safe for _disapparation. _They both had shrunken packages of newly purchased clothing and shoes in their pockets. The relief of not having to wear cast-offs any longer, again, helped pull Harry out of the heavier mood he'd sunken into during lunch. Harry knew that Severus was worried about him, and sensed that the older wizard was feeling remorseful. This was also difficult to be aware of, because now Harry was worried about Severus being worried about him. _UGH! _

The best thing about the day so far was that at some point as they had walked, Severus' arm had draped around Harry's shoulders and stayed there. Their bond was growing.

"We should duck behind that stairwell just over there," Severus directed in a quiet voice as they walked.

There was a sudden and very loud _CLANG_ of metal banging on metal that startled them both, and they each had their wands in hand within a second of the initial reverberation of the sound. Severus pulled Harry against his side, having a quick look around as he led the way to the small area behind the emergency exit staircase. Two things happened simultaneously that caused Harry to bristle: his scar tingled sharply, and he heard a voice he'd been quite happy to consider forever gone from his world-

_"Hemm-hmm!"_

-just as Severus _disapparated_ them both from the scene.

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"She's got a horcrux!" Harry told Severus when they'd landed on the back stoop of Spinner's End. "My scar hurt!"

"Stay calm, Harry," Severus warned, stemming his own alarm at how badly Harry was rattled by this development. He removed his galleon and sent a message, keeping his eyes upon it while he awaited a response. "She must have been tipped off about my claiming guardianship of you."

"What if she goes after Madam Chase?" Harry said nervously, and not liking the idea that Dean's aunt could be kidnapped in another context in this timeline.

"Come," Severus said as he sent another message through the coin. He _disapparated_ them again.

They landed on the front steps of Number 12 Grimmauld Place and entered quickly. Harry could hear the _crack! crack! crack! _of three additional arrivals and turned to find Remus, Lucius and Dumbledore crowding into the entry. The portrait of Madam Black began to howl and screech. It was too much to ask for them to tolerate on top of the agitation of the moment. Harry spun around and glared at the painting, imagining it at the bottom of the Black Lake at Hogwarts, down where the Grindylows could make her miserable. And voilà. She was gone. _Payback._

The sudden silence was palpable. Harry shot a look back at the others, who were all staring at him in blatant shock. He smirked in spite of his anxiety. "What? I learned a bit about summoning and banishing," he declared in mock defensiveness. And before anyone could take a stern tone with him, he added, "and don't insult me by suggesting I'd ever to that to a living being."

"At least not before you first turn him to dust?" Lucius asked with a raised eyebrow and the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh," Harry said realizing he'd put his foot in it. "Well, yeah." _Reel it in, Harry,_ he cautioned himself. This was the kind of thing that would make Severus snap at him. He shot a look at his guardian and saw that Severus was assessing him with narrowed eyes.

"This is our first opportunity to reacquaint ourselves, isn't it, Harry?" Dumbledore was asking carefully. At Harry's guarded nod, he added, "Shall we adjourn to the kitchen? We have much to discuss."


	11. Chapter 11

**_A/N: Thank you, thank you for the reviews! I have been so slammed that I had to choose between writing this and writing back to each of you. I'll catch up soon - promise!_**

Chapter 11 - EM-E - Harsh Reality - Part II

Headmaster Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, with Harry on his one side and Severus on the other. He was openly observing the energy between the two, which was still fairly benign, and this was entirely due to Severus' conscious recollection of Remus Lupin's words about how sensitive Harry was to criticism. He was biting his tongue about the banishing of the portrait, a stern reprimand and a dire warning to not repeat such an action being stifled entirely because of the way Harry's pallor had grown pale and his eyes had reddened. They would need to discuss this of course, but later, in private.

Harry's eyes were on the table, his agitation at an all time high because he was convinced he'd just blown his credibility with these adults, all the while Madam Chase could be in the hands of a very nasty and evil witch. "We really, really need to check on Madam Chase," he said, finally looking up at Severus and then Dumbledore. "And after that, we really, really need to go back to Hogwarts and destroy the locket and the diadem. We'll have to find the diadem first, though."

"Madam Chase is unharmed, Harry," Dumbledore informed him gently, adding before Harry could request it, "I paid her a visit late this afternoon. I offered to ward her office and home for just such an event. We'd left her office at half four. I was just leaving her home when Severus sent the message."

"Why did you go to her, sir?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Albus," Severus added, a glare surfacing as he too jumped to immediate conclusions.

Dumbledore held up his hands and raised his eyebrows. "Now, now gentlemen, I simply sought her out to inquire about what she knew of the Dursleys. I was hoping that a conversation with her would inspire… a means to achieve an appropriate consequence for their abominable behavior that would not require your involvement, Harry."

"If you look at Uncle Vernon's secret files at his work, you'll find he's been embezzling. Aunt Petunia has a gambling addiction. She participates in an illegal club. Dudley could be brought up on charges for the violent beatings he's given to… kids who are smaller than he is. The neighbors in the area would be willing to press charges now if they could be certain he'll be taken away," Harry informed the Headmaster quietly.

"I see," Dumbledore replied. He folded his hands on the table. There was no twinkle in his eye, and it was a clear sign of defeat that he didn't make any sort of acknowledgement of his failures to Harry. "I now know what my tasks will entail over the weekend. In the meantime, Harry, I agree with you that we need to take steps to minimize the danger of the horcruxes getting into the wrong hands."

Remus chimed in at that point. "Perhaps we could assume that the ones at Hogwarts are untouched for the moment? Harry, you'd said something about an additional one in an old house?"

"That would be the wiser choice over attempting to confiscate the one that my sister-in-law retains," Lucius added.

Harry glanced around at Remus and Lucius, then at Severus while he struggled to remember what Nagini had told him in the bowels of Gringotts. She'd claimed to have eaten…_ a ring._ "It's a ring," Harry announced. "It's an heirloom of Tom Riddle's mother's family."

"I had suspected something similar, and have located an address to the last known home to be inhabited by a Merope Gaunt," Albus said, producing a slip of paper with the address in Little Hangleton. "If you gentlemen would make the trip to retrieve the ring, I would like to call a meeting of select members of the Order in the meantime. We have to anticipate Minister Fudge's next moves." He looked at Lucius. "Have you had any feedback from the Ministry?"

"Deputy Minister Thickeness questioned me without much enthusiasm this morning when I stopped by to make my report. He is normally a nitwit, but today especially he behaved in a distracted manner that could mean trouble. I have nothing more to go on in the meantime. He was less than forthcoming about Minister Fudge's intentions. For some reason, the urgency to patrol Hogwarts has decreased, although I have been directed to continue my post. Oh, and Harry," he paused to remove something from a pocket in the short, jacket-style robe he wore. "I managed to procure a duplicate locket for you from Borgin and Burkes," he said as he slid the item over to Harry.

Harry managed a smile of thanks. "Brilliant. Thank you, sir." He stood up. "Kreacher?" The elf wandered into the open area where Harry now stood, having apparently been monitoring their meeting from behind a cabinet. Harry frowned at him. "What were you doing there?" he asked the elf, but he dropped down to his knees as he spoke and gestured for Kreacher to come closer.

"Kreacher was wanting to see if his new master would keep the promise," Kreacher said defensively, slowly moving closer to Harry.

"I told you I would, didn't I?" Harry asked. He held the locket out to the curmudgeonly creature.

"Kreacher is surprised," the elf said in open shock as he took the gift. "Kreacher is grateful."

"Kreacher is going to be angry with me for removing his former mistress' portrait," Harry said carefully.

"Kreacher has a new master," the elf contradicted, much to the surprise of all present. "Kreacher honors Master Harry's decisions about this house."

"That's great," Harry said, standing up and flashing a triumphant grin at Remus, who was shaking his head. "I'd appreciate it if you'd make this place a little bit nicer over the coming months. Alright?"

Kreacher bowed. "Yes, Master Harry." He disappeared from sight with an ungainly _POP!_

Severus rolled his eyes at the sentiment. He stood as he said with familiar snark, "Do let us adjourn, if we have concluded the heartfelt moments?" To Albus, he added, "We will reconvene at Hogwarts, unless we hear differently from you." When they began to head out through the back exit off of the kitchen, he put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You will stay close to me, understood?" he said in a firm tone. He was pleased that the boy nodded without argument.

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_Crack! Crack! Crack-Crack! _

The three adult wizards and Harry arrived in the ratty and unkempt front garden of a ramshackle structure that apparently had at one time been a solidly built cottage-style home. Severus kept Harry at his side, wand drawn.

"You should have your wand out," Severus advised Harry.

"No thanks," Harry said. "I have no desire to get charged with misuse of underaged magic again." But then he realized he'd likely come across as defiant. "I can shield myself without it, sir."

Severus frowned in disbelief, but said nothing further, simply draping his arm around Harry and pinning him to his side as the four of them worked their way closer to the wide front porch. They cast disillusioning spells upon themselves and spread out to make a slow approach in a wide arc. Severus sensed a magical field, and held up a hand to warn the others to halt…

…just as six separate blasts of unfriendly magic _zipped_ toward them from behind.

The three master duelists each managed to deflect the curses in time to prevent grievous injury upon themselves and Harry, but by extension, were forced to spin around to face their attackers and to step backward, triggering a warded alert that cast a pulse of powerful magic into each of their backs, propelling them high into the air. Harry and Severus became separated, and Harry's attempt to shield his guardian along with himself failed. He did manage to cushion the blow of his hard landing at the feet of a Death Eater he recognized from the old memories he'd seen last year in Dumbledore's pensieve. Selwyn.

"Looking for something, Potter?" the imposingly tall Death Eater asked him smugly as the _zips_ and _smacks_ of fierce wand battle ensued around them.

Harry kept his shield intact as he looked wildly around and spotted the newly reassembled and very capable _dream team_ in action. There was so much frantic activity in progress he could do no more than register that all three of the older wizards were still on their feet. Briefly refueled by that familiar hero worship, Harry responded with far more of a flip tone of voice than he should, "I think _you're_ the one who's looking for something. Your Dark Lord, perhaps?"

"What do you know?"

Selwyn apparently didn't intend to listen to the answer because he slashed his wand downward, sending a brutal _limb pulverizing_ hex at Harry, who was still on his knees from his landing. Harry's instincts kicked in before he truly registered what he was doing, and his shield deflected the curse, sending it right back at Selwyn, who went down with a series of _crunches _that were audible above the other noises_._ Selwyn did not get back up.

_"Harry!"_ Severus yelled in concern.

Harry snapped his head around to search through the haze of smoke and crackling magical energy that still flailed through the air. He was unable to spot his guardian, but he shouted, "I'm alright!" He stood then, and made his way slowly around the parameter of the melée, anxiety driving him to _get into that house._

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Remus had managed to pair himself with Lucius and the two of them were facing off with four of the remaining assailants: Gibbon, Rowle, Yaxley, and Alecto Carrow. He had lost visual track of Harry and Severus, but he did hear Harry's call that he was fine. Remus used the resulting surge of relief to fuel a particularly precise series of hexes, crisscrossing them with Lucius' similar casting, in a sequence that kept their attackers on the defensive. Lucius followed that with pulse of magic that shattered Rowle's kneecaps, just as Remus sent a curse at Alecto Carrow.

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Severus slashed his wand to invert a blast of yellow flame that had shot at him from Amycus Carrow, directing it at the dark wizard's sister, Alecto, and grimacing as it hit her simultaneously with Lupin's slashing curse. The resulting wail of pain and rage, and heavy _collapse_ of her bulky body was rather loud, and _very satisfying._ It was followed by the rapid _cracks!_ of _apparation,_ revealing the arrival of Order members Shacklebolt, Dawlish, Tonks, and Albus. Wondering how they'd been alerted, Severus hurled a slashing hex at Amycus, successfully getting past the male Carrow's shield and hitting his achilles tendon, which was immediately hit by the blast of a punching hex from Lupin that knocked Amycus down, where he was next bound in ropes by Tonks.

Tonks winked at Remus as she spun to join the others.

Remus stifled a smile as he glanced over at Selwyn, and saw that he was conscious and struggling to heal himself wandlessly after Harry's attack. Remus sent a silent _incarcerus_ at him and petrified him.

Meanwhile Severus ran across the barren garden and up the stairs to where Harry was hovering near the front door. The boy had a field of protective magic around himself, along with a frown on his face, as he struggled to sense the presence of a horcrux, and all the while keep a watchful eye on the battle still underway.

"I don't think it's here," Harry said. "I have a bad feeling, sir." He remembered the _portable peekhole_ charm from his handbook and imagined a magically transparent barrier where the wall should be. In an instant, they could see into the small interior, although it was dark and heavily shadowed.

"We need to enter to be certain there's nothing there," Severus said grimly.

There was another series of _cracks!_ of _apparation_ and suddenly they were incredibly outnumbered by the arrival of additional assailants. The ensuing explosion of magical energy caused a flash of brilliant light that blinded them both.

Harry's heart was in his throat as he searched for the others in the middle of the mayhem. At some point Severus had dragged him close and was standing so that he could shield them both as needed. Severus cast several hexes over the following moments, targeting the new arrivals. When the light faded enough to make the scene visible, Harry saw that Remus was down and being targeted by several hostile wizards at once. Severus reflexively pulled Harry back against his chest, and when Severus' arm stretched out in front of them both, Harry imagined his magic pushing through his guardian's wand. The retaliatory spell that Severus cast at the three Death Eaters attacking Remus had terrific force, enough so that all three were blasted away and out of sight, presumably across the road and into the shambles of a neighboring house.

A sudden heaviness settled upon them. A jolt of pain hit Harry's scar. He gasped and looked frantically around to see where it came from and his stomach plunged when he saw Pius Thickeness, strolling towards them, arm linked with Dolores Umbridge.

His knees started to buckle from the heaviness pushing down on him. He could feel Severus struggling as well.

Pius held his hand up and wiggled his fingers. "Looking for _this,_ Mr. Potter?" he taunted while Umbridge laughingly squeaked her infuriating _hemm, hmmmm!_

_ Blech! _Harry couldn't help but think, recalling how Tonks had told him previously that these two were presumed to be a couple. Pius was acting like the ring was a symbol of their love. The ongoing heaviness caused Harry to collapse to his knees under the powerful magical weight, the pain in his scar becoming nearly blinding as the two evil Voldemort sycophants made their way closer. He looked frantically around to see who else was being impacted. The others were somehow being forced out of the bubble-like field of magic surrounding the happy couple, all while it hovered over Harry and Severus. Where was Dumbledore? Harry looked further back and saw that the Order members had encircled the remaining assailants, who were now captured and incapacitated. Dumbledore stood with them. His eyes were on Harry. It as clear he was waiting for his moment to act. Harry sat back on his heels and expanded his shield to cover Severus.

_"They've linked their power,"_ he whispered to his guardian.

_"Indeed,"_ Severus growled under his breath. He'd dropped to a kneel as well, still behind Harry, pulling him backward to lean into his chest with a strong arm that wrapped around Harry's shoulders. _"Two can play at that game."_

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"We are curious to know how you came to be here, Harry," Pius informed them as he and Dolores strolled tauntingly towards them.

Harry couldn't stop the grunt of pain that burst through his scar as the creepy couple came closer. Severus squeezed him, pressing his cheek to the side of Harry's head as he whispered, _"Can we cast while within this field?"_

_"Dunno,"_ Harry whispered back, he was struggling to stay upright now, what with the pain and the heavy weight.

Severus extended his arm in front of them. In their peripheral view, they could see that their allies were all attempting to break through the barrier by casting various curses and hexes at the base of the transparent field. Unfortunately, this was having no impact.

"I asked you a question, young man," Pius said in a threatening tone, he was raising his wand.

"Perhaps I can induce Mr. Potter to speak," Umbridge said. "We have had some experience, he and I, with him learning obedience."

_Try it,_ Harry seethed inwardly. He shot a focused glare at the ugly toad-faced witch with her stupid pink sweater robe and its matching bow in her girlish hair. "I could have sworn you had a crush on Fudge, Dolores," Harry rasped. "The way you kept his photo on your desk at school, and even called him Cornelius when you talked about him." He shook his head, albeit with difficulty. "Could have sworn it."

"Not only are you impudent as always," Umbridge declared shrilly, "you are quite mistaken."

She flicked her wand to send a hex at Harry. He imagined her wrist snapping awkwardly towards her, which pointed the wand back at herself. With a burst of gray smoke, she literally flew off her feet, effectively being pulled away from Pius. The unexpected action caught Thickeness off balance and he had to step back to recover himself. His wand arm swung wildly outward, spewing a random spell that actually hit Umbridge on the backside.

"Now!" Severus said. He cast spell after spell at Pius.

Harry imagined his own magic feeding into the curses that were hitting Thickeness as if he was being punched by a boxer, but he could tell that their combined power was far less than it would be if that bleeding barrier would just come down. The heaviness was lifting only slightly while Pius was distracted by the onslaught, but he would need to be injured to break it entirely.

"It's no good," Severus said. He redirected his curses at a singular spot, right on the bridge of the dumber wizard's nose, and fired with vicious precision.

Harry looked over at Umbridge and realized she'd regained her feet and was getting back into the action. "Hold that thought!" he said.

He briefly broke his magic away from Severus and rapidly imagined Umbridge's hair being pulled _really_ hard, followed by the rough removal of her bow, followed by it being stuck over her mouth. Permanently. Her sharp yell of shock and pain, and then rage, reverberated around them as her bow was magically yanked off her head, only to have it shut her up entirely by sealing itself to her face. Priceless.

That got ol' Pius' attention, enough so that he dropped the shield and shouted, "My love!" dashing to her, but meeting empty space as she _disapparated_ away. A very powerful wash of water sped through the scattered wizards, sweeping around Pius and containing him, curling into a ball around him. Harry had seen this magic from Dumbledore twice before, both at the Ministry of Magic, and on the grounds when they'd captured Thora Breckin with the diadem, and Nagini had raced into the scene.

Harry had a flash of thought that he should expect the snake to show up at any time, just as the encapsulated Deputy Minister of Magic seemed to have lost his grip on his magic. The magical field dropped and Lucius' raucous laughter surrounded them, as both Harry and Severus realized they could stand up again and moved down the stairs to gather with the others. Lucius bowed to Harry, saying, "That was worth the price of admission, Harry."

Harry struggled not to smile, suspecting, and correctly so, that Severus was traumatized by the extent of Harry's now revealed abilities. Dumbledore continued to spin the ball of water crazily around, while they all pondered next moves.

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_"Let -me go, damn- you, Dumble- dore!"_ Pius yelled. He'd already vomited repeatedly from the horrible motion sickness and was currently tumbling around like laundry in a dryer, along with that vomit.

"When you follow directions, Pius," Albus said for the umpteenth time, "I'll stop the rotations. Perhaps after a while, the spinning in your head will also cease." There was a hovering metal lockbox in the center of the ball that Thickeness tumbled within. He'd been instructed to remove the ring from his finger and put it into the box.

_"What will- you do- with it?"_ Pius demanded between grunts of discomfort and gagging at the threat of another bout of sickup.

There was an unspoken pact among the five of them to not call the ring a horcrux in front of the Order members, who were still guarding the prisoners and entirely within earshot. "That's not your concern, Thickeness," Severus said coldly. "You should be more concerned about how you will survive in Azkaban."

Pius managed to laugh in spite of the need to wretch. _"Might- I- remind you,- Severus,- that I am- in charge- of Azkaban?- why do- you think so- many showed up- tonight- to help here? It's- your little- ward- there,- who needs to- have that- concern."_

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Harry's stomach plunged. _That's not happening,_ he thought to himself. He would hide out at headquarters and then leave Wizarding Britain when his Emancipation kicked in. _No bloody way am I going to prison while these arseholes run around acting like _this!

Severus squeezed his neck and they refrained from further comment with ol' Pius. But Harry couldn't help thinking that Thickeness was not acting nearly as strong as Thora had when she had the diadem on her head. Perhaps the idiot Death Eater didn't realize the power he had with that ring on? He stared at the dark wizard flopping around within his liquid cage. The ring was visible on his hand, Harry could see it clearly. _Worth a try,_ he thought. He imagined it inside the lockbox.

_"Ahhhhhhaahhhhh!"_ The agonized wail released by Thickeness was nearly as disturbing as his vomiting had been.

The ring was in the lockbox. Along with Pius' finger.

_Bugger!_


	12. Chapter 12

**_A/N: I think I'm going to be able to pick up the pace again now. My goal is to be done with this story by the end of May. I've no idea where this new plot is going, but it's going to go more quickly now. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 12 - EM-E - Harsh Reality - Part III

Severus took one look at the blood spewing from Thickeness' hand, where his ring finger had been mere moments ago, before shooting a look over at both Lupin and Lucius to find they each had expressions of awe that could only be shortly followed by declarations of, "_oh, shite!_" and decided his ward had done quite enough in this encounter. _Merlin help me,_ he thought as he draped an arm around Harry and announced, "We're finished here," before _disapparating_ them both away.

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Harry pulled away from Severus when they'd stepped through the floo and into his quarters. The boy spun around to face him, eyes wild with fear and more of that now-constant desperation.

"Sir, I-"

"We are going upstairs," Severus interrupted him. He stepped aside and gestured for Harry to precede him through the floo. The agitated teen threw down the floo powder and choked out his request for his common room while Severus stood by. Severus paused, gritting his teeth while he removed his outer robes and banished them to his bedroom, finding he needed to place a hand on the mantle to lean on while he summoned control…

…of the raucous guffaws of laughter that threatened to overtake him. Severus rarely laughed, but he could tell if he gave into this amusement, he'd have trouble composing himself afterward. It took every vestige of his skill as an Occlumens to block out the constant replay of the Umbridge witch's head snapping to the side while her ridiculous bow flew out of her hair and covered her enormous fly-trap of a mouth. _I couldn't have handled her better myself._ And then, the bloody - literally - finger transporting to the box with the ring! He hung his head and stared at the stones of the hearth at his feet, his jaw beginning to ache from clenching against his desire to grin. _No grins._ That was enough indulgence of his dark humor. He had to set an example for his ward. _Breathe in. Exhale slowly. I must not encourage Harry to use such tactics on a regular basis._ He took another moment of breathing, also taking that opportunity to permanently banish the paddle. Any future need to take Harry to task for something would be done verbally. Finally, Severus followed Harry through the floo.

He emerged into the Gryffindor common area to find Harry sitting on the sofa looking up at him with eyes as wide as saucers. "We will have a discussion now, and you will withhold nothing else from me, understand?" Severus declared, hearing a terse quality to his tone in spite of his attempts to sound moderate.

Harry blinked, and his brow furrowed as he registered the indirect accusation. His heart was pounding so hard and his senses were reeling with so much real terror over what he'd just done to Pius Thickeness, that he was unable to protest in his own defense. He tried again to speak, "Sir, I-"

But Severus held up a hand again. _"Ah ah ah,_ not yet. First things first. Stand up."

Harry blanched at that, flashing back to the other day when he'd been in that other pickle, and had received the identical command. But Severus had put his hands into his pockets and pulled out the shrunken parcels of their earlier shopping. _Oh._ Relieved, Harry stood and removed his packages from his pockets and held them out in one hand, in the same manner as his guardian.

Severus swished his wand and banished the lot of their shopping down to Harry's room in his quarters. He looked at Harry and said firmly, "You will unpack your new wardrobe into your room downstairs when we return there. No arguments."

"Yes, sir," Harry said. He gulped down miserable nervousness and waited.

"We will take turns with our questions," Severus announced to Harry's surprise. "And while we exchange information, we will dispose of your former wardrobe, one piece at a time, until we are each in a better frame of mind. Understood?"

_Huh?_ "Er, yes, sir," Harry said.

"Take off your jacket," Severus directed, aware that he was torturing Harry, but needing to keep this tone for the time being while he set the stage for what he had in mind. He waited while Harry complied, raising an eyebrow when the boy threw the discarded outerwear over the arm of the sofa.

"Oh," Harry muttered, banishing it to his trunk upstairs with his wand.

"Summon the rags here." Severus pointed to the open area before the hearth.

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They were several minutes into their 'discussion,' which was essentially a quid pro quo engagement, and Severus was exceedingly glad that he hadn't given into his instinctive desire to harshly scold when he started in by asking the boy about the banishing of the portrait. He had instead directed Harry to levitate a particularly wretched pair of pajama bottoms over to the fire to burn while giving the explanation, and the history behind his declaration at Grimmauld Place. The boy had clearly been relieved to have been able to inform him that he had already had the opportunity to learn to use his abilities in very sparing ways, outside of banishing towels to hampers and summoning jackets. (And apparently in battle.) Severus now knew that Harry had previously banished the portrait with success and had been confident that it was safe to do when they'd been at Headquarters earlier.

"But it was really stupid of me to try to move the ring from Thickeness' finger to the box," Harry finished. "I should have remembered how stuck the diadem was to Thora's head." He was strained with anxiety as he gave a quick overview of the previous timeline's incident where Thora Breckin put the diadem on and channeled Voldemort, followed by her linking her magic with Gregory Goyle and launching a violent assault on the student body. "Is Thickeness going to be alright? Am I in trouble now?"

Severus raised an eyebrow to indicate Harry was not following the rules of their activity.

"Oh, uh, the rugby shirt," Harry said. He watched as the blotched and faded shirt was levitated straight upward, and then _zipped_ dramatically into the fire in typical Snape flare. The action amused Harry enough to induce a smirk in spite of his nervousness.

Severus weighed the merits of downplaying the enormity of the injury the teen had inflicted on an enemy, in a situation that was not self defense. "It would be a challenge for Ministry Law Enforcement to prove you were the one responsible," he told Harry, "considering your wand was never visible throughout the event. And to my knowledge, the magic you used is untraceable. However, I believe this event will remain unreported, considering the players involved. In this instance, we were in the right to have fought as we did, including the removal of the ring. The fate of the Wizarding World is still very much at stake. We will continue to operate outside of the law as this progresses, Harry. It will be up to each of us to remember to preserve his own honor." When Harry's eyes met his, and let him see the world of exhausted turmoil the boy continued to carry, he added, "I am going out on a limb by saying that I don't believe you would have otherwise been as quick to act as you did without this level of peril. In your own words, young man, it is not as though you have much choice in this, is it?" He paused to hold Harry's eyes while this sunk in. "And, perhaps Albus will be able to reattach the finger."

Harry clenched his jaw and looked away for a few moments to process what he'd just been told. He was pretty sure his professor had just told him that he approved of Harry's actions. When Severus directed him to burn a beat up pair of jeans, Harry did so, verbally incanting his _wingardium leviosa_, and waiting to be asked a question by his guardian.

"How is it that you do not even have a scuff mark on your attire? I personally witnessed you flying through the air when we were attacked."

"You too," Harry replied knowingly. The rush of thrill at how fantastic he considered Severus to be in battle helped to break through his heavier mood, and Harry smirked at his guardian as he added, "you're no more scuffed up than I am." When the older wizard raised a skeptical eyebrow, Harry concluded, "I've seen you fly. It's bloody brilliant." The expression on his guardian's face was priceless, but it was clear that he would not be able to receive Harry's gushing with any degree of grace. Even still, Harry couldn't help but insert, "You flew during a battle with Thickeness on the other timeline, when he was attacking me." From there he gave a recap of that encounter and how much credibility future Professor Snape had gained with his students. "It's strange to think that none of that will have happened when school starts back up."

"You have not answered my original inquiry," Severus reminded him, completely unsettled to hear that he'd had to rush to Harry's defense on school grounds, and when other students were present. And he couldn't even _entertain_ the possibility of becoming well liked by his students. _That will never happen._

"Oh yeah," Harry was saying. "This shield of mine is pretty versatile. I find out new things about it every time a new bout of mayhem comes up. Today I used it while I was airborne."

"So you cushioned your landing?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hmmmmm. Your turn."

Harry studied the pile of rags. "We should let at least three pairs of pants count as one turn, otherwise we'll be here all night."

"Agreed," Severus said, amusement at what they were doing finally overcoming the tension in the subject matter.

"What will Dumbledore do with the ring?" Harry asked, laughing as his professor made the three pairs of threadbare plaid boxers dance over the flames before dropping fatefully to their demise.

"I expect he'll bring it here. You do not have to be involved in its destruction."

"I'm fine with that," Harry said. He could see his professor's surprise. "What happened earlier is going to be the type of thing that happens regularly until we get all of the horcruxes dealt with. And this was easy compared to the diadem and Nagini's attacks."

Severus raised an eyebrow, but did not allow that last bit to add to his current stress level, instead directing Harry to burn a sweatshirt. "Why would you have not disclosed your ability to combine your magic with others?" he asked the boy, again stifling the urge to have phrased this as criticism.

"I didn't know I could until tonight," Harry surprised his guardian by saying. "I suppose the one good thing about being in so many dangerous situations is that I keep discovering new ways to use my wild magic." He thought about it. "Like the charm to show us inside the cottage. That idea came from a book Remus just gave me. Actually, I didn't cast the charm, I just imagined the result."

"So that's what you're doing, then?" Severus asked. "Visualizing, rather than casting spells?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "And I'm literally making it up as I go along. I had no idea what you were going to cast at 'ol Pius and his best girl, so I just imagined my magic feeding through your wand." He narrowed his eyes at his professor. "You have to burn something else. That was two questions."

"Hmmmm." Severus levitated the other sweatshirt from the dwindling pile into the fireplace. He was struggling not to smile at Harry's descriptions of Umbridge and Thickeness. It was quite apparent that he needed to properly guide his ward in the use of this peripheral magic of his, but this could prove to be a tricky situation, where Severus would have to reign in his harsher side while yet again having to operate without enough information.

Harry snickered when he was told to burn the thermal shirt with the hole in the armpit. "Gladly," he said as he sent the embarrassing but warm garment to meet its end in the flames. "Do you think Dumbledore can try to get the Wizengamut to bypass Fudge and get himself reinstated as Headmaster?"

"I believe that is on his agenda," Severus responded. "And after today's events, he will have to decide how to best convince his audience of Voldemort's demise, and to confide to some extent the continued threat without revealing that there are horcruxes."

Harry was feeling a lot better now. He had been terrified Snape was going to bite his head off after the finger debacle. "I don't have any more questions," he admitted.

"I have many," Severus said. "But as we are down to the last vestiges of your former apparel, I will narrow down the count." He'd been sitting on the sofa beside Harry for the duration of this activity. He now turned himself so that he was facing his ward and allowed his deep concern to show as he asked, "Did they beat you, Harry?"

Harry looked at Severus sharply, knowing exactly who _they_ were. He nervously began to flick his wand at the remainder of the clothes, remembering suddenly that he could cast nonverbally now if he kept his thoughts calm. The pile was down to about thirty individual and worthless socks, so he sent each into the fire, one by one, as he relented and gave a real answer to his guardian, "A few times, yes. Uncle Vernon cornered me and used his belt. But mostly it was more about being knocked around. I got shoved a lot. And punched." He looked over at Severus and saw the undisguised alarm in the older wizard's expression. "The worst of it was them not letting me eat for long stretches, and locking me into the bedroom I used, or into the cupboard. They'd padlock it. I couldn't get out until they'd let me out, and they didn't do that very often." The alarm had evolved into raw shock on Severus' face, so Harry quickly moved on because he was pretty sure he knew why his professor had asked this. "I know that you think I'm all about breaking rules and seeking glory, but I'm not. I don't want to be in trouble with you, sir. Ever."

_That_ got to Severus more than anything else that Harry had just revealed. "I've been realizing this," he said solemnly. He again recognized how very careful he needed to continue to be with young Harry Potter, and, how glad he was that he _hadn't_ acted on his threats of spanking this boy.

"If you tell me not to do something, I won't do it. Well, unless, I guess, if my life or someone else's is on the line."

Severus nodded to acknowledge Harry's words. His mind was reeling at the significant step that Harry had just taken by trusting him with information about the Dursleys' abusive treatment. It was time to reduce the intensity of the moment. They both needed the break. "I have two more questions for you."

"Alright," Harry said warily.

"Did you alert Headmaster Dumbledore to our plight? Or was that one of the others?"

"It was me," Harry said, relaxing again when the topic moved away from his abusive relatives. "I found out I could do the messages with my imagination just before I got hit with Bellatrix's curse."

Severus was having difficulty disguising his growing regard for his ward's abilities. "Impressive," he said, and was pleased to see the impact this had on Harry. "And finally, would you be comfortable with calling me Severus, _again,_ as it were?"

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Severus wasn't certain whether it had been his asking Harry to call him _Severus_, or his adding as he'd stood up, "Come, Young Harry, let's get some dinner," that had brought Harry's emotions to a head, but by the time he'd flooed the two of them back down to his quarters, Harry was swiping at his eyes, trying desperately to avoid looking at Severus. And this time, Severus was deeply moved by the sight, enough so that his own voice was close to breaking when he grabbed Harry's arm and said, "Wait, Harry," so that he could pull the poor child into a much needed embrace.

Harry clung to Severus, burying his face in the older wizard's shirt, struggling to control harsh sobs that contained so many conflicting emotions, he was extremely relieved his guardian hadn't asked what was wrong. Harry couldn't have said, even if the world had depended upon it. But, no matter, Severus clearly had an idea anyway.

_Now,_ things were starting to feel like they could get back to normal.

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After about an hour of contemplating the flames from his seat in his leather armchair, Severus snapped back to the present to realize it was late, and he was hungry. Where was Harry? He made his way into the boy's bedroom and found Harry asleep on his bed, appearing to have slipped off into oblivion unintentionally. Severus smirked, but took a look around while he could do so unobserved by his ward. Severus had furnished the room with a wardrobe, desk and chair, and a full sized bed, selecting unused furniture that had been stored throughout the castle and having elves assist with its delivery. The bedding consisted of the standard Hogwart's white linens and a navy blue duvet encasing a heavy down comforter. There wasn't much about it to personalize it for Harry yet, but the boy had summoned his school books down and stacked them neatly on the desk, along with his owl's cage. Upon inspection, Severus found Harry's new clothes neatly stored in the wardrobe.

"Harry?" Severus called softly, stepping over to look down at the boy. He could see Harry struggling to open his eyes as he sat on the edge of the bed beside him. "Are you down for the night?" he asked in amusement.

_"Uhn,"_ Harry murmured.

"Uhm hmm. How's your room? Is it the same as the previous?"

"Better."

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Harry awoke at about midnight with a growling stomach and more than a little annoyed with himself that he hadn't showered before falling asleep. After that last stint in the cupboard and being told he stank by his aunt, Harry had preferred to shower twice daily to insure he never offended anyone again. There was a soft, warm glow coming from a magical wall sconce that illuminated the room enough for Harry to be able to find his way through the dark as he carefully opened the door and poked his head out to see if Severus was still up.

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Severus stepped through the floo to find Harry sitting up on the sofa with his transfiguration textbook in his lap. "Were you unable to sleep?" he asked the boy in a flat voice as he took a seat in his armchair.

Harry knew the minute he saw Severus that his guardian had just been involved in destroying the ring horcrux. He had the same stoney expression he'd had after the locket event on the other timeline. "You know it was all Voldemort, and not you, right? No matter what the apparition said," Harry pointed out quietly, and very carefully.

Severus looked Harry over, noting that the boy was wearing new pajamas that were quite an improvement over the now burned hand-me-downs. "Did you have anything to eat?"

Harry nodded. "Dobby brought me sandwiches. Er, will you just tell me if everyone is alright? Then I'll go back to bed."

"Everyone we consider a friend is fine," Severus said, still sounding toneless and flat. He studied the boy for a long moment. "If you would like to stay there and read, you should do so. Be warned I am not in a mood for conversation."

Harry struggled to decipher from that whether his company was genuinely wanted, or not, and finally decided to stay for a little while when his concern for his guardian's state of mind outweighed his fear of rejection. He reopened his book and continued reviewing the subjects he had to include in his holiday essay. He'd ultimately be rewriting assignments that he'd already completed and received high marks for, and he was actually alright with this because he was now the type of student he never expected to be: the high achieving type.

Severus was surprised that Harry had stayed put, not yet ready to believe that the boy enjoyed his company, especially when he was sullen and introspective, as he was right now. He had also been surprised at the boy's comment about the apparition. He wondered what Harry had witnessed previously, and would be mortified if it had been what had occurred tonight when he had joined Albus, Lucius and Lupin in a remote area on the coast. It was bad enough that the others had witnessed an embodiment of Severus' guilty conscience looming over them all while they struggled to refocus their attention to the task at hand. Albus had used the Sword of Gryffindor to destroy the horcrux, and consequently the trapped finger, and the resulting evacuation of enraged evil energy that swept through each of them had given Severus a very strong taste of what Harry had been dealing with alone.

The occasional crackle in the fire was the only sound in the otherwise silent room shared by the two dark haired wizards over the next thirty minutes. Severus sipped at a moderate dose of fire whiskey, and was slowly relaxing, enough so that when Harry began to yawn uncontrollably, he was able to flash a smirk with his raised eyebrow at his ward.

"I'm going," Harry said with a sleepy smile. He wasn't expecting Severus to get up, but he did, and he pulled Harry into a hug.

"There is a stock of dreamless sleep in the drawer of your nightstand," the older wizard said. He held Harry for a long moment while his conscience wrestled with itself.

Harry hugged back, feeling more at ease with his guardian than he had all week. "Goodnight, Severus." He was rewarded with a hard squeeze and a kiss on the top of his head.

"Have a good sleep, Young Harry."


	13. Chapter 13

**_A/N: Rather than rant about the things that have kept me from writing, I'll profoundly apologize, refrain from promising this is the last long wait you'll have, and admit that I've got some ideas for upcoming mayhem. It's going to be a doosey! I hope these characters can handle themselves "with honor"…!_**

Chapter 13 - EM-E - Utilizing Resources - Part I

The following morning was a Saturday. Severus ordered breakfast when he heard Harry moving about in his room before heading into the bathroom. The older wizard had not slept much the previous night, unable to shut out the scene on Shell Beach where Albus had decided they could safely destroy the ring. There had indeed been an apparition, and it had been of Severus himself, scowling hatefully at all of them, exhibiting the very worst of Severus' own nature. But the most difficult part had been the declarations by the mirage Severus that he had no business being anywhere near Harry, that he had inflicted as much, if not more misery upon the boy than anyone else, and that Lily couldn't possibly have trusted him with her child after all of this. It was exactly what Severus had been battling internally since it had fully registered that Harry had been abused and neglected by numerous parties, including Severus.

Severus had some very real fear that he would revert back to his cruel self if at any time he felt disadvantaged while trying to care for Harry. The boy himself had admitted that he was fearful of this as well, although he hadn't argued about moving down here to Severus' quarters. Whatever Severus had done in the past twenty-four hours had gone a long way in earning enough of the boy's trust to at least have taken that step. But now what? Severus did not know how to parent. His instincts told him that now that he had a clear perspective on what Harry was dealing with, both magically and emotionally, he should at least set some structure to their activities over the coming week.

"Morning," Harry said as he came in and sat down across from Severus.

"Good morning," Severus returned, eyeing Harry's freshly showered appearance over the rim of his coffee cup as he sipped. "How did you sleep?"

"Good," Harry said with a hesitant smile. He looked Severus over. "I was thinking I should see if you need help with your potion brewing? You did last time. It's already down to the last week of the holidays."

Severus smirked. Clearly he had manufactured opportunities to get Harry in the potions lab. He did indeed have some restocking of standard remedies to do, but nothing overwhelming. "I do have a bit of brewing to get done. You have your assignments as well, and I am of a mind to set a daily schedule to work with you on this peripheral magic of yours. I think you should explore your abilities in a controlled setting. Agreed?"

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Remus found Severus and Harry in the Room of Requirement at half two that afternoon, apparently after they'd been working together for nearly an hour. "Hello, you two," he said warmly, albeit carefully, being that it was the first encounter with Severus after the ring destruction. "I just heard from Albus, and he would like to come by early next week to deal with the locket horcrux." The unenthusiastic silence that greeted this comment made him grimace. He looked at Harry, "What have you two been working on?"

"Apparently I've got issues with control," Harry said with exaggerated bitterness. He was frustrated and worn out from attempting to cast a non verbal _contego._ "I can do three spells non verbally, but none of them are defensive."

"That was not the point of the exercise," Severus corrected Harry.

Remus gave them each a confused look.

Severus eyed his ward's glowering countenance with a touch of amusement. The boy certainly had high expectations of himself, which was something Severus understood far too well. "Harry has asked me to instruct him on the means which I have utilized to manufacture my own spells. I have tended to develop spells when I need to solve a frustrating problem. Such as an extraction charm for delicate elements of plants I need for potions," he said, deliberately refraining from referring to his rather lethal defensive spells. "Harry has been demonstrating his spontaneous reaction to various types of aggression, and we have ascertained that his response to an unexpected threat is to utilize a spell he's recently witnessed, which is quite resourceful," Severus said, adding the last part to make sure Harry didn't hear his words as criticism. The boy was still tense, however. "We are attempting to build on that by practicing non verbal casting of his existing arsenal of practical spells on a more instinctive level."

"But I keep doing things like hair pulling and the mouthless hex I picked up from Draco," Harry added, "instead of shielding or disarming in response."

"I'm not seeing the issue," Remus said with an impressed smile. "Especially in hearing that you can already cast non verbally, Harry. It's merely a step by step process to get from your magical reactions now, to a point where you respond with a new spell." He looked back and forth between the two dark haired wizards while he considered his own instincts in this context. "I can tell you both that I personally was able to learn to create my own spells through magical play." He smirked at Severus, tilting his head and smiling when Severus narrowed his eyes into a resentful glare at the unspoken assumption that the potions master never _played_ with magic, "Surely _you've_ had some time to play, Harry?"

In all honesty, Harry had no idea what Remus was talking about. "Er, I don't think I have…"

Remus frowned again, but took advantage of the way Severus was yielding the floor to him, at least for the moment, to continue with his line of thinking. "What sort of spell would you like to create, Harry?"

Harry blinked, weighing the risk of upsetting Remus with his question, but he remembered Ron asking Severus about this spell, and had never followed up on it in the previous timeline. "Sirius had a pretty nifty disarming spell that he used on Mr. Malfoy…" he paused nervously, seeing the minor flicker of grief flash over Remus' face. "Do you know the one I mean?"

Remus smiled sadly for a moment, but enthusiasm overpowered that sadness at the opportunity to fully illustrate his point to Harry. "That is a perfect example to use, actually." He had both wizard's attention when he summarized that the Marauders had played games, challenging each other to utilize silly sounds or gestures and turn them into spells. "James had this very annoying bird-call sort of whistle that he used to tweet at us from long distances to get our attention or summon us over. And I added to the annoyance by waving my hand over my head in a silly manner to reply to James. It drove Sirius spare, so he retaliated by integrating it into that disarming spell, as a way to taunt your dad and I, and steal a wand away while he was at it."

Harry was finally catching on, and a smile tugged at his mouth. He flashed a look at Severus and saw that his guardian was struggling between old and unresolved contempt, and intense interest in what his former schoolmate was revealing. "That sounds like a whole new sort of fun," Harry said. _Hmmmm._ Ideas were spinning creative threads through his mind as his amusement grew.

"What news did Albus have about meeting with the Wizengamot?" Severus asked after Remus had demonstrated Sirius' disarming spell for Harry a half dozen times. Albus had told them the previous evening that he would seek an immediate audience with the magical high court to address the events that had taken place around the retrieval of the ring.

Remus replied while Harry silently practiced the wand movements. "He attempted to declare a magical state of emergency, but the complete council would not concede to his request. So, he next met with Madam Bones one-on-one, and she has assured him that she will act quickly to have Thickeness and the others detained more securely in Azkaban, where Kingsley and his lot have been keeping them under guard. Apparently, Minister Fudge is so besotted with his plotting to get his hands on Harry, he's been completely oblivious to the goings on with his Deputy Minister. No one was aware that Dolores Umbridge was out and about, as she was supposed to be under house arrest while she recuperated from her undisclosed traumatic injuries while exiting Hogwarts. Fudge would like to pin that on Harry as well, if he can."

Harry and Severus scowled simultaneously. Groaning in frustration, Harry spun on his heel and flicked his wand in a neat double 'x' while waving his left hand over his head. _"Armis dicessum!"_ he yelled angrily, thrusting his wand forward as he cast Sirius' spell at the practice dummy, only to break into a satisfied grin when the dummy's wand came soaring over head for him to snatch with his ready hand.

"Well done!" Remus laughed.

"It will be way better when I can do it non verbally and only use that whistling sound," Harry said with full determination. But then he sighed, back on topic. "So, with Fudge on the warpath like this, I could need to go deeper into hiding at any time."

"Not necessarily," Severus said firmly. "You are legally my ward in both worlds. He cannot remove you from my custody without full backing of the Wizengamot, and only then if he has enough evidence to show you have committed a significant crime. Albus intends to force them all to acknowledge Voldemort's return, and with that, the incredible threat that has faced you, Harry. You have been the only one to take _real_ action against him. Lucius can show his memories, if needed, which would aid Albus when he goes on to reveal the recent destruction of the Dark Lord's corporeal form. That is likely what convinced Madam Bones to act. I imagine there will be dissent, and serious upheaval in our Ministry over this. Madam Bones will have to organize to get Fudge removed from his post, and then there will need to be interim leadership, etcetera. So we will continue to move forward with our efforts to both thwart Fudge's attempted vendetta against you, and to completely destroy what remains of the Dark Lord's power."

"Oh," Harry said, openly unsettled by all of this. "But we ultimately have to wait to be certain that Fudge will not get the chance to rewrite the law to say that he can take me away from you, right?"

Severus frowned. "Hmmmm."

As if by power of suggestion, their coins all warmed and vibrated with a message from Lucius:

_Fudge is at the gates…insists that Harry must be here with Severus…knows about the guardianship…_

"Come," Severus said grimly. "We will face this now, and if I sense danger, I will remove you from it."

"OK," Harry agreed reluctantly.

"I'll escort you," Remus said, flanking Harry's other side.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

By the time they had reached the Great Hall, Lucius and Fudge were coming through the entrance, so all gathered to face each other in front of the hourglasses holding the house gems.

"Mr. Potter," Fudge said. "I have been looking for you, young man."

"Why, sir?" Harry asked in his best impersonation of guilelessness. Severus' hand was on his neck and he received a gentle squeeze of warning to behave himself.

"We have much to discuss, Harry," Fudge declared. He removed his hat and tilted his head, his tone stern when he continued, "I have been growing more and more concerned at the outrageous behavior you have been exhibiting since last summer. The summoning of Dementors, for example."

Harry sputtered, ready to launch into a loud rebuttal, but Severus' hand squeezed again, this time quite firmly. Harry pressed his lips together and looked up at his guardian for guidance.

"I beg your pardon, Minister," Severus said in his most condescending and dangerous tone, "but I find it laughable that you would accuse a fifth year student of a capability that only you and the Dark Lord are purported to have had." He paused, as now Fudge was the one sputtering at the linking of his name to Voldemort. "And as the High Court found Harry innocent of all charges-"

_"__That was not a unanimous sentiment!"_ Fudge declared angrily. "This boy got off way too easily because Dumbledore interfered. He has a history of underage use of magic around muggles-"

"Which, if you had done your due diligence to investigate, you would have found on both counts was used in reaction to an attack-"

Fudge's complexion turned beet red with temper. "Inflating his aunt to the point of her going airborne is _not_ a defensive reaction to attack! He-"

"You are aware that I have taken guardianship of Harry," Severus spoke loudly and firmly, audibly overpowering the shorter and rounder wizard. "And in the course of your investigation into this, could only have found that his home circumstances with his mother's sister were incongruous with the life he has been forced to lead as a _prime target of Voldemort," _here he paused to narrow his eyes in disdain at the pathetic way the Minister of Magic winced at hearing that name, "and without _any_ sort of protection from his own society's _governing body!" _Severus stepped closer to Fudge and stared him down in full Snape mode. "You have been completely aware of the danger Harry has been in, and have done _nothing_ but declare ignorance of Voldemort's return, _in spite_ of witness statements to the contrary, and used this to fuel your efforts to unseat Albus Dumbledore, who is the _only_ leader among us with the fortitude to take _any_ sort of initiative towards the destruction of the Dark Lord's reign of terror!" He sneered in disgust. "You are wasting not only precious Ministry resources by manufacturing this nonsense against Mr. Potter, but you are also costing us _all_ precious time and safety by not focusing your attention on the threats to societal security from those who still want to see Voldemort rise to power."

"Mrs. Dursley considers him a criminal! She has cast him out of her home for her family's safety!" Fudge raged, clearly on a one-track mission. "You are out of line, Professor Snape." He turned his glare to Harry, but Severus stepped in front of his ward.

"I declare otherwise," Severus said in disgust. He dropped his head down as if to lower himself to Fudge's level, curling his lip as he concluded, "In fact, you owe this boy a life debt for the efforts he has already made that have begun to dismantle that reign of terror. The very reign that you are far too cowardly to face!" He turned his back, directing Harry away from the pathetic politician. "This conversation is over."

"You do not have the authority to contravene my demands, Professor Snape," Fudge called after him.

Severus spun back to face Fudge, directing Harry to stand behind him with a firm wave of his hand. _"Contravene?_ Your demands are not _the law_, Minister, and as you have made no coherent demands in this confrontation, I refuse to waste another minute on your blather. Furthermore, as I am interim Headmaster of this school until Headmistress McGonagall recovers from an attack, which occurred on these grounds, _by members of your staff, while students were present,_ I have every right to be affronted by your appearance, on a Saturday, and during the Christmas holiday, while you operate outside of the law to harass this boy."

"This is not over, Snape," Fudge said menacingly, his fury so strong his mouth was trembling.

"Oh, I quite agree, Minister," Severus said with confidence. "There is _so much_ to be addressed. But not outside of the proper channels, and not on your _whim._ I do not answer to _you,_ sir."

Harry peeked around Severus at that and caught the smug smirk on Lucius' face that the blond wizard belatedly erased when Fudge spun toward him for affirmation of his full support as a member of the Board of Governance for the school. Remus, on the other hand, remained stonily silent, his eyes locked on Fudge with an unreadable intent. Harry was reminded of the way the wan Marauder had looked at Wormtail when they'd cornered him in the fifth floor corridor on the other timeline. Theoretically, Fudge was in cahoots with Peter Pettigrew, by having refused to investigate Harry's claims that he still lived and had killed Cedric Diggory at the graveyard.

"You answer to _the Ministry of Magic,_ Professor," Fudge said to Severus, putting his hat back on and pulling gloves from his pockets to don as he spoke. "And the Ministry has begun a thorough investigation of Harry Potter's antics over the last several months, beginning with his suspicious appearance with the dead Diggory boy at the end of the Tournament."

_"__What?"_ Harry rasped, darting out from behind Severus and ignoring his guardian's attempts to pull him back. "I'll show you my memories! All of them! Only you'll have to see what _I saw_ at that graveyard! Not sure you can handle it. It's a full _face to face_ with Voldemort!"

Fudge narrowed his eyes and twitched his nose in a rather rodent-like manner, but said nothing more. He cast a glance at Lucius that clearly indicated he expected the blond wizard to escort him back down to the school gates. Lucius flashed them all a raised-eyebrow look that said _Merlin help us_ as he ushered the Minister out the door.

"I do not like the sound of his threats," Remus said grimly. He turned to look at Harry and Severus. "I'm going to check in with the other Order members and see if anyone has more information for us."

Severus nodded and waited until Lupin was out of earshot before turning a stern glare on Harry. "I believe you told me that you would respect my direction if I told you _not_ to do something," he said in a tone that indicated Harry had crossed a line.

Harry stepped back a step, his indignant anger already starting to desert him and panic was on the rise to replace it. "I had to challenge him that way!" he said desperately. "He's making up lies and tossing them around, and-"

"And how exactly did you help the situation with your goading?" Severus demanded. He had not been unimpressed by Harry's taunts at Fudge, but they had not been helpful. When the boy remained silent with a pinched expression, Severus jerked his head in the direction of his quarters and the two of them strode along in silence. When they reached the door, Severus opened it and shooed Harry in. "Go stand in the corner. Fifteen minutes. In silence."

Harry nearly laughed at that, but as quickly as the humor surfaced, mortification replaced it and he turned a deep shade of embarrassment red as he looked around for the corner Severus had in mind and trudged over to stand like an idiot who couldn't control his cheeky mouth. It was the longest fifteen minutes Harry could remember suffering through, and when it was over he wanted to crawl into a hole.

"You may resume your day," Severus said when Harry stepped away from the corner. He could visibly see that Harry had retreated behind a wall of confused turmoil again. "Harry, your feelings are completely and inarguably justified. But we have to be more calculating with the manner in which we deal with the likes of Cornelius Fudge. He is the worst sort of idiot: one with power. Understand?"

"Yeah," Harry said quietly. "I'm sorry I went back on my word like that. I know I messed up pretty badly."

"On the scale of _mess ups,_ it was hardly enough to merit much more remorse than you've already indulged, Harry, so let it go now. Like I said, your feelings were justified. Your reaction was not particularly wise. But even as I say this, I am well aware of the example I was setting that probably encouraged your outburst. I would like you to trust me to handle this type of situation. Your innocence will be far easier to maintain if there is no past history of clashes between you and Ministry officials on record. We need to be careful."

Harry nodded, feeling heavy enough to crave a nap.

Severus smirked at him, waving his wand and summoning Harry's pillow. It zipped past Harry's head, blowing his hair comically as it sailed by and landed on the sofa. "Come have a nap. I'll wake you for dinner."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

The rest of the weekend and Monday progressed without further interference from Minister Fudge. But Tuesday morning, a pensive Severus stared at his reflection in the mirror as he used his wand to magically shave the last area of his jaw, watching the heavy morning stubble shear itself from his skin and fall into the sink in front of him. He'd shown Harry this exercise the previous morning, on impulse, after realizing how unlikely it was that anyone else would have done so at this point. Harry had yet to sprout any facial hair, but he'd been ready to learn the charm. It had been an easy lesson, as had every one of the past three daily sessions of magical instruction with Harry, both in the potions lab, and then in the Room of Requirement. Severus had witnessed firsthand how quick and clever Harry Potter could be as they'd explored Harry's ability to infuse his own magic into another wizard's spells, along with brainstorming unique spell ideas. Harry's enthusiasm and desire to learn had been encouraging for Severus, and they'd covered a lot of ground together as instructor and pupil. Now that Severus was free of his Dark Lord's dominance in his life, he was far less tense in general. Adding to this a clear understanding of what drove Harry Potter's impulses and angst had induced a calming effect on Severus. He had thus far been able to be patient and thorough with his instruction. This had made a very palpable difference for each of them, in that Harry seemed far more at ease with him, and Severus was growing more confident that he could effectively change his behavior as a professor in general in the future, while still retaining his authority.

But this harmonic interplay had been most unfortunately disrupted when Albus had shown up Monday night and suggested they destroy the locket horcrux. Harry had been required to participate so that he could speak in _parseltongue_ to the enchanted piece of jewelry to start the process. Lupin had joined them, and the four of them had gathered in the Chamber of Secrets, each braced for the disturbing messages and violation of their most deep seated fears. But no one, especially not Severus or Harry, had been prepared for the apparition to direct its vehemence solely upon Harry. The visual manifestation of Harry's worst worries took the form of Professor Snape, being his most hateful and hurtful, and the way Harry had paled and grown very quiet spoke volumes about the power behind the potion master's past cruelties.

_"__Do stop holding out hope that I'll decide to adopt you again, wont you? Do you really think you could ever matter to me to such an extent, you imbecilic, infuriating little menace? What could I possible come to value about you? You are selfish, stupid and rude. You care only about yourself and are constantly seeking attention. Even your own blood relations cannot not stand the sight of you. What makes you think-"_

Severus had cut off the diatribe by stabbing a basilisk fang into the locket, but the damage had been done, and the sandy black smoke had found Harry and had seemingly mauled him quite spectacularly. Harry had not bothered to shield himself, and had consequently been sick to his stomach. He'd also been unresponsive to the physical comfort that Severus had attempted. Severus hadn't had much more to offer, after having been struck silent at the view of himself spewing such vitriol, seeing first hand how utterly vile he had been, and just how much power his harsh words had carried over the years. The fact that Lupin had witnessed the entire scenario as it had played out had intensified the shame all the more. The Marauder had also attempted to offer Harry support. Harry had not resisted the comforting hand on his shoulder as he'd stumbled along while they'd returned to the dungeons, but he had not appeared to have felt any better, either. They'd all returned to Severus' quarters, where Harry had said a quiet good night and had retreated to his room. He'd been asleep all three times that Severus had checked on him, so they hadn't yet spoken about what had taken place.

Sighing, Severus cast a silent _evansesco_ on the sink to rid it of his shaving detritus, and stared at himself once again. Yes, he'd gained some new and important insight into himself as an educator, both in the positive successes he'd shared with Harry, and in the bald-faced representation of his worst, most cruel side. Finding out that he'd been about to adopt Harry in Harry's previous experience of these times had been a shock, but not a surprise. He was already coming to deeply care for his young ward, and could easily see that would intensify with each passing day. But becoming _a parent_ was a whole different story. And even contemplating this possibility made his knees buckle.

_"He's already changed you, Severus,"_ Lupin had said quietly before taking his leave the previous night. That had actually surprised Severus, in that he'd expected to be slammed into the wall again, at the very least, by James Potter's only surviving friend. But the werewolf had declined the offer of a fire whiskey and had left quickly after his parting comment.

Albus had also left shortly thereafter, saying as he'd stepped into the floo, "You are welcome to seek me out if you want to talk, Severus."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

"I believe I may have set off a chain reaction when I purchased the replacement locket from Borgen and Burkes," Lucius told Severus as he sipped a cup of tea at the kitchen table some twenty minutes later. "It seems clear to me that Pius went for the ring shortly thereafter, which means that Bella will be clinging to her cup by now."

"This is not good news," Severus said tersely. He stood distractedly, worried that Harry was not up yet. "Will you excuse me for a few minutes? I need to check on Harry."

Lucius nodded, frowning after his friend as the dark haired wizard left the kitchen. Severus had relayed that the locket horcrux was now also destroyed, so they were three down, four to go. He'd not revealed what had transpired, but it was clear that both Severus and Harry had been impacted.

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO

Harry was awake and lying on his back, staring numbly up at the ceiling over his bed.

"Are you wary of starting a new day?" Severus asked quietly after having opened the door and tapped lightly upon it before entering. He came over to Harry and looked down on him.

"I guess you're braver than I am," Harry said dully.

Severus sat beside his ward on the bed. "That was the second time I have been made to witness my worst self, Harry," he said softly, guiltily. "I have no desire to be that wretched person any longer."

"I know," Harry said. He looked over at his guardian. "But when you're like that, and you say those kinds of things to me, it's like you're just repeating what my own mind is always telling me." He dragged his eyes back over to look upward again. "I don't want to do this anymore."

It took enormous effort for Severus to push down the rush of horrified remorse that threatened to overpower him. He reached out and put a hand over Harry's chest. "Then _don't_ do it anymore," he said in a strained voice. "Don't say those things to yourself. They're not true. They were _never_ true. And my being a horrible arse to you doesn't make them true, either." When Harry turned heartbroken eyes his way, Severus responded in the only way he could. He pulled the covers back, grabbed Harry's upper arms and pulled him up and into a tight embrace, stopping short of pulling the scrawny teen onto his lap, although that probably would have been beneficial because the way Harry cried into Severus' neck made the older wizard fear he could never comfort his ward as thoroughly as was needed.


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N: Yeah, it's a bit short... fingers crossed I can eek out another one over the weekend(!)**_

Chapter 14 - EM-E - Utilizing Resources - Part II

Severus had shooed Harry on ahead to go and meet Lupin and Lucius in the ROR for an impromptu defense practice session later in the afternoon. Harry had been somewhat reluctant to leave his guardian's side, after a morning of being kept in close proximity to the potions master. Harry had known that Severus was being very careful with him, and he had allowed himself to be enveloped by the attention. By the time Severus had suggested Harry go on ahead, he could honestly say that he was feeling _a lot_ better than he'd felt when he'd awoken for the day.

"It's rather odd, the way he's acting," Tonks was saying to Remus and Lucius when Harry found them in the ROR. Her voice carried through the large interior as he approached. "He's broadcasting to anyone who will listen that he'd spoken to Mrs. Dursley about Harry, and that she'd informed him that her family had been driven out of their home on Privet Drive after she'd terminated custody of Harry. She told Fudge that Severus had _forced_ her into hiding for reasons that were groundless and ridiculous. Fudge says he'll be going to the Prophet with what he knows, to get the word out that Harry Potter has mental issues that are being indulged by his new guardian and Albus Dumbledore."

_Bugger!_

Harry stopped in his tracks when he heard this. "I just don't see why he's being such a tosspot about this," he said in exasperation as the adult wizards turned to acknowledge him. Harry realized that in spite of this pseudo repeat of an event he'd already experienced, he was almost at the point now where so much was happening on _this_ timeline, it was overshadowing what he'd brought with him from the future. Case and point, this new development with Fudge. Harry stopped short of regretting that Fudge was still alive in this version of events, although there _was_ a thread of fleeting thought of how things would be much easier if the cowardly politician was no longer with them.

"Wotcher, Harry," Tonks called to him as he made his way over. "Guess you heard all of that. I thought I'd come by and pass it on first hand, and just in time for a mini defense class, eh? Well, there's nothing to do about it but be prepared to defend yourself!"

"This is a disaster," Harry muttered, but he found himself casting his eyes off to survey the room the others had set up.

"Yes, it is," Remus agreed, "but it is for _all of us_ to face, Harry. You are being targeted personally and publicly, yes, but the rest of Wizarding Britain is being deceived and left very vulnerable to evil by their own Ministry of Magic. We are all at tremendous risk."

Harry knew Remus was right and forced himself to shake off the morose attitude that wanted to consume him. He was so, so bloody tired of constantly being in a state of fear. But he wasn't the only one who was afraid. So, knowing this made him feel less alone, at least for the moment.

"I hear you're thinking up your own spells already, Harry," Tonks said, winking at Harry when he met her eyes.

Harry smirked. "Well, that's the plan, anyway. I have a couple of ideas that I think I could make work, but I doubt they'd be worthy enough to make it into common wizarding spell use." He cast a glance at Lucius, who had narrowed his eyes as he'd listened. "Have you ever created a spell, sir?"

"I haven't, Harry," Lucius said. "I never had the instinct to do so. I have always been the type of perfectionist who is driven to master what is already known." He paused for a moment, reflecting on unspoken thoughts. "Severus was very accomplished in that art. I remember being both impressed and intimidated by his skill in that regard, but finally concluded that it was not an inclination for me."

Harry smiled at that. "I'll probably go that route as well. I enjoy learning from watching others in action."

"Well then, let's have a little action, shall we?" Tonks suggested. "Mad-Eye just told me about something he used to do when he had been disarmed, back before he could cast a shield non verbally."

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The four of them had spread out to engage in an exercise that was a test of speed and reflex. There was only one simple rule: to use only one single spell, any spell, and attempt to cast it in time to force its magical energy to clash with an opponent's spell, to disrupt the magic in a modified form of deflection. Harry was reminded of a muggle news report about anti-missile operations that caused missiles to explode in midair, high above and safely out of reach of muggle society.

They stood in a square formation, casting diagonally and upward into the center of their enclosed space. Harry was casting _expelliarmus_ because it was one that he could do non verbally. The whole thing was exactly the kind of practice that Harry thrived upon, and it was proving to be an incredibly useful tactic. They were all laughing and breathless after about thirty minutes of constant casting, and each of them, including Harry, felt confident that he or she'd acquired a new and quite effective skill.

"That was brilliant, Tonks," Harry said enthusiastically. He nearly commented that she always showed him excellent spells, but caught himself just in time. Tonks was not aware that Harry had come backward in time.

"Well done," Remus said with his warm, wan smile. Tonks beamed, blushing slightly.

"Let's have some one-on-one, shall we?" Lucius suggested.

He'd directed his request at Remus, who responded with almost identical confidence to the last time Harry had witnessed a moment like this between the two older wizards. In fact, Remus was wearing the same ensemble he'd worn that day of dueling last time, sans the robes. _Curious,_ Harry said to himself, hearing Severus' voice in his head instead of his own, which nearly made him laugh out loud. He flashed a look at Tonks and saw that same look in her eyes as before, as well. _She's got it bad for Remus,_ he thought. He wondered if they might speed things along a bit more quickly this time. Last time, Harry was pretty certain they'd end up together, but it hadn't happened yet by the time he'd been blown back through the calendar.

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This time, when Remus and Lucius sparred, Harry was treated to a visual introduction to a whole new selection of spells. He was fascinated by the force of their magic as they waved and slashed their wands at each other. Each wizard had a different expression of concentration, but from where he stood, Harry would be hard pressed to say which was the stronger of the two. This time, Remus was bested by Lucius, by virtue of a simple disarming spell which the blond wizard slipped in after a creating a massive explosion that forced Remus to angle his shield in a way that left his right flank exposed.

"Aah!" Remus growled in disappointment, conceding reluctantly with a bow, but winking at Harry nonetheless. "Well done, Lucius. Harry, I hope you took note of the patient strategizing that went on just then."

"Oh, I did," Harry said with an impressed grin.

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Next, Harry and Lucius faced off. Lucius was not particularly gentle with his spell selection, but Harry was able to block _almost_ all of what came his way with his wand. When the renowned muscle-cramping hex got past Harry's _contego_ shield and hit his calf, Harry gasped at the annoying pain and retaliated on instinct. As his knee buckled sharply enough to take him down, Harry used wild magic to enhance his spell, casting _Vox vocis - voila!_ as he was dropping, and managing to get past Lucius' shield. The spell was one of his new ideas, adding a French twist to the "high voice" spell he'd used on Draco in the past. The resulting high pitched shriek of babbling that erupted from Lucius, consisting of segmented feverish rants in French were so hilarious that Harry literally fell to the floor laughing, lying on his back and struggling to breathe while Lucius went on and on, helpless to silence himself.

_…"__alors alors alors! c'est ridicule, comment osez-vous? qui fait quelque chose de si horrible? avez-vous une idée de qui je suis? qui fait mes cheveux? la valeur de mes idées?"…_

It was right about then that Severus walked in, finding Remus and Tonks in hysterics, Harry on the floor holding his stomach and laughing harder than Severus could ever remember witnessing, while Lucius stood over him spouting off nonsense in a cartoon voice, and _in French_ no less, gesturing madly and emphatically, but clearly enjoying the way the boy is laughing.

"What. in. Merlin's name. is. going. on?" Severus demanded in his trademark professor enunciation. He cast a loud _finite_ and then a _finem_ on Lucius, but neither ended the French diatribe. Lupin and Tonks were watching him pretend to be unamused while they continued to crack up, along with Harry. He raised an eyebrow at his ward. "Mr. Potter, if you would kindly put us _all_ out of our misery and end this horrific display-"

_"__Revelo,"_ Harry gasped, flicking his wand in a very simple arc and then collapsing into giggles again.

"Good lord," Lucius rasped in exasperation. "You've even built in a failsafe release to that spell? Who in the world would think to use _revelo?"_ He stood glaring unconvincingly down on Harry for a few moments while the boy continued to laugh. "Severus, your ward is an all new breed of _devious_ in a duel." And he was clearly quite impressed.

Severus looked down at Harry, who was finally managing to catch his breath. _"This_ is how you plan to overpower your enemies, young man?"

Harry grinned, sitting up. "I think it could work, Severus. I nearly died laughing just then."

"Forgive me if I misunderstand, Mr. Potter, but isn't your aim to cause your _opponent_ to collapse, and not yourself?" Severus was losing the battle and a smile was making its way to his face.

Harry allowed Lucius to pull him to his feet and stood facing the two adult Slytherins. "That spell would be perfect for overpowering a very particular sort of menace," he said, thinking of the likes of Draco in bully mode.

"What else have you put together, Harry?" Remus asked wiping his eyes and joining them with Tonks.

"Er, well, I don't know if I want to reveal that yet," Harry hedged. He looked at both Severus and Remus. "How would you have practiced a more… aggressive spell back when you were making them up?"

"How _aggressive?"_ Severus asked, just managing to keep himself in check in spite of the _bling_ of alarm bells in his mind. He did not want to see Harry turn into a younger version of himself, creating the likes of _sectum sempra_ to slice his enemies to shreds. But Harry was already putting him at ease before he'd finished the inner reflection.

"It's not so much what the spell does, but what it makes the recipient _think_ it does. If it works the way I want it to, it will make them respond like the coward they really are…" Harry was saying. He smirked. "I could pay a couple of first years to let me practice it on them. But that's more than a week to wait, to see if it's really going to work."

"You will do no such thing!" Severus said, outrage getting the better of him. But the boy had been goading him, and was now looking far too smug at having gotten a rise out of Severus. Severus narrowed his eyes warningly, but Harry had already achieved his goal. "Clearly, you are not aware that you are playing with fire, you little fool."

Harry grinned at Severus again. Oh, he knew he'd been playing with fire, but he was incredibly proud of himself. "Alright, no experimenting. I promise. Although, you do realize that is how the Weasley twins tested the efficacy of a lot of their Weasley Wizarding Wheezes products for the store they're going to open?"

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Harry was both relieved and unnerved at the way nothing out of the "new normal" occurred over the next few days. He and Severus maintained a routine of mornings spent on Harry's assignments and potion brewing, and free-forming with magic in the afternoons. Harry then hung out with Remus in the evenings after dinner on Wednesday and Thursday, listening to music and hearing more about his parents. Most of the stories were repeats that he'd heard previously, but they were nearly as enjoyable to hear a second time, plus he really loved listening to records with the wan Marauder. Harry noticed that Remus again kept the little tidbit about Severus' guitar playing abilities to himself, in spite of their conversation crossing over into favorite instruments and live performances. Harry came away from each visit reflecting on how much integrity Remus had, and how much he truly respected the older wizard.

Late Thursday evening, Harry and Severus had a visit from Dumbledore and were informed that Headmistress McGonagall had been released early from St. Mungos, and would return to the school on Friday afternoon to prepare for the new term. Harry acknowledged inwardly that this was another parallel to the previous timeline.

"Is the Wizengamot doing anything about reinstating you, sir?" Harry asked.

"It's hard to say, Harry," Dumbledore replied. "I definitely have a strong number of the members convinced that we need to act on the continued threat of a collapsing Ministry of Magic, along with the need to dismantle Minister Fudge's power structure."

"Do they know now that I killed Voldemort?"

"I am confident that this group believes my information is valid, but Harry, there is a reason Cornelius Fudge has been able to mislead the public with his little fantasy," Dumbledore warned.

"Yeah," Harry said. "People would rather believe the easier scenario. The one where I'm a disturbed little miscreant who's making up stories to make himself sound important."

Severus frowned at the visible shift in Harry's mood as this topic came to light. He'd been happy to allow the boy as much stress-free time as possible these last two days and was loathe to see it end. But alas, he could not protect the boy from all of it. "Albus, have you heard anything about Fudge's visit this past Saturday? He indicated that he had a full investigation of Harry underway."

"He has made no reports or announcements of his intentions to the Wizengamot," Dumbledore said, ducking his head down to cast a look at Harry over his glasses, before looking back at Severus. "The two of you need to go see Madam Chase again, do you not?"

"We do," Severus replied. "Tomorrow, at eleven."

"That will at least finalize the question of guardianship until the end of January," Dumbledore said, nodding in approval. "This is something that Fudge cannot undo without rewriting Wizarding Law that has been established for well over a century."

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"Good morning," Rebecca Chase greeted Harry and Severus when they entered her department area Friday morning. Both wizards immediately registered her reserve.

"Is there anything the matter?" Severus asked. He kept his hand on Harry's neck, already feeling a distinct tension in his ward.

"Well, I've had a strange past couple of days," Madam Chase informed them. "Come, let's go into the meeting room."

When they were in the room that was now quite familiar to Harry, the social worker seated herself across from Harry and Severus, so that they could see her disquiet far more clearly. Harry's stomach took a plunge. "What happened, Madam Chase?"

"I got called to a school named Smeltings Academy yesterday morning," she said carefully. She could see that this was news to Harry, but that he knew his cousin would be part of this story, "I'd been summoned to help with the aftermath to an episode of major school violence on the campus. Do you know a boy named Piers Polkiss?"

Severus was watching Harry's profile from where he was again seated beside the scrawny teen. Harry paled, clenching his jaw as he nodded and waiting to hear the rest of the story.

"It appears that young Mr. Polkiss experienced an inexplicable mental breakdown that induced a violent rage, and he apparently planted _and_ detonated bombs on the school grounds. The explosions destroyed three classrooms and injured at least twenty people. He allegedly went on a rampage of attacks on students after that. He is being held for multiple counts of murder and assault, and for terrorist acts, which is something I'm unclear about at this time. Harry, your cousin was among the severely injured. He's in hospital now, hanging on by a thread, and his physicians are noncommittal about his prognosis."

Harry's mind was reeling. He knew this was not what it appeared to be.

"What sort of injuries were inflicted on those who were attacked?" Severus demanded in a low, grim voice as he reached under Harry's chair to grab its base and slide him nearer. He draped an arm around the boy and tugged him even closer.

"He must have had a machete or a large knife. The authorities hadn't yet found the weapon when I was there," Madam Chase told them, "but the injuries were all deep, brutal slashes."

They sat in silence. "I don't know what to say about this," Harry said after a while. He had a horrible desire to get up and run out of the muggle facility. The Dursleys had been targeted because of him, and as much as he disliked them, he was sick to hear this news.

"I went to the hospital to check on Dudley this morning and encountered your aunt and uncle," Madam Chase said carefully. "I asked them if they wanted me to have you visit. I have to admit I was rather shocked when your aunt said she wanted to see you."

Harry's stomach had been settled down around the base of his spine since he'd walked in, and now it sunk beneath the soles of his feet. He jiggled his leg.

"Harry?" Severus prodded softly. Harry leaned into him slightly. Severus looked at Madam Chase. "I am skeptical about Petunia Dursley's desire to see her nephew."

"I was too," Rebecca Chase admitted. "But her distress seemed to be so full of desperation, as if she believes Harry could inspire his cousin to hold onto life."

Harry struggled to say something but couldn't formulate what he wanted to say without sounding hostile. He had no doubt in his mind that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would blatantly pin this all on Harry.

"I can't believe this happened," Harry finally said in a rough voice. "Dudley and Piers have been best friends for as long as I can remember. Both of them are bullies, but they're the kind that is a pure coward underneath all of the bluster." He hastily cleared his throat. "I'm willing to go see Dudley, but I really don't think it will do much good."


	15. Chapter 15

**_A/N: I'm not sure how I pulled this off, but I did it. I found time to write another chapter! Sorry about the cliffy - the next chapter is started, at least, so you won't be in misery long… I hope(!)_**

Chapter 15 - EM-E - Unmitigated Gall - Part I

Rebecca Chase insisted on accompanying the two of them to St. George's Hospital. Severus surreptitiously sent several messages through the coin while they rode in the hired cab, as Harry chatted nervously with the social worker from his seat between the two adults. She'd at least put both of them at ease when she told them the guardianship was sealed and permanent, letting them watch her rubber stamp the document and sign and date it so that they could be certain it was done before following them down to the street level to summon a taxi.

"Look, it's just the way the Dursleys see things," Harry explained to Madam Chase. "The fact that they had to let me into their home is the only possible explanation for all of the bad things that have happened. Even if they believe this all happened because of someone else's wandwork, they'll still see me as the reason it happened to _them._ And I can't really argue with that."

"No, you can't argue that with a _rational_ mind," Rebecca said, smiling reassuringly at Harry. "But you, Harry Potter, are not responsible for the criminal behavior of other individuals."

"I would be if I was the mastermind, and the Dursleys believe I am. They think I've wanted all of this," Harry argued. "They will have an unexpected reason for wanting me to visit. It's certainly not going to be because my presence brings them comfort."

"Well, then you can reassure yourself that of the lot, _you_ are the one with the good intentions and better heart," Madam Chase said.

Severus slid his wand back up his sleeve and his coin into his pocket. When Harry gave him an inquiring look he said calmly, "I've secured backup."

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Harry stayed beside Severus as they entered St. George's, following Rebecca Chase as she weeded through the assembled muggle news crews, who were there to report on the condition of all of the victims of the previous day's events. She led them up to the Intensive Care Ward, to the small visitors' room where Petunia and Vernon Dursley were both sitting. Petunia jumped up when she saw Harry, and then looked at Severus, and then beyond Severus as Remus walked into the small chamber behind them, having just arrived at Severus' summons. Harry flashed a look at the two older wizards and saw that they were both poised and ready to respond to whatever was behind the school violence, and the Dursleys' unlikely request to see Harry.

Now Harry looked at his aunt. "Do you have any news on Dudley?"

Petunia pressed her lips together. Harry couldn't tell if she was stifling her typical loathsome vitriol, or if she was searching for more decent words. She stepped closer to Harry, glancing quickly through the large windows that overlooked the round bay of patient rooms that were also glassed in with curtains up for privacy. She looked at Madam Chase as if considering speaking to her, but finally addressed her response to the magical individuals in the room. _"This was not…"_ she said in her standard pinched voice, _"this was something done by your kind."_ Now she shocked them all by looking up at Severus and saying in a pleading voice, "You could go have a look at him, couldn't you? See if you can undo what was done to him? They say he won't live because he's not healing as-" The last word cut off as her voice broke in sheer despair. She heaved in harsh breaths, battling herself and finally choked out. "Severus? You might help him. Please? Or can you call someone who could?"

Harry looked over his shoulder at the potions master and saw his frown of discomfort. Severus turned assessing eyes on Harry, as if wary of how Harry was handling this situation, before casting an inquiring look at Remus.

"Minerva had just arrived when you messaged us, Severus," Remus said, deliberately not mentioning Hogwarts. "She'd summoned Albus for a briefing and I believe he was en route. Lucius was suspicious of this being a diversion of sorts, so he wanted to see her settled and not leave until others had arrived. We summoned more Order members to watch the area."

Severus nodded. He looked over at Petunia. "I will have a look at your son," he said somewhat kindly, as even _he_ was believing her despondency to be genuine. "We too suspect foul play from the Wizarding world based on what Harry has said about the boy who is responsible for the brutality."

Petunia flashed a look at Harry that he couldn't read, probably because he'd never seen anything on her face but fear and hatred when he was around. "They were not kind to you," she said, referring to Dudley and Piers, "but they are not capable of something this terrible."

"I know," Harry said quietly. He looked over at his uncle for the first time. Vernon Dursley seemed to be in a catatonic state. He'd not reacted to their arrival, nor had he shifted his eyes away from the distant spot they were still focused upon. Madam Chase had gone over to take a seat beside him, and was also studying him.

"Very well," Severus said. He made a show of pulling Harry back against his chest and hugging him around the shoulders, dropping his head to say, "Don't let your guard down. Stay here with Lupin."

"Yes, sir," Harry said back, reaching up to grip Severus' arm for a moment. He looked at Remus as his guardian left the room with his aunt. Remus was frowning at Vernon, narrowing his eyes. Harry wondered if his werewolf senses were picking up on something from his uncle.

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"Severus?" Petunia whispered as they walked the short distance to Dudley's room. She could no longer see her sister's former best friend.

"I've _disillusioned_ myself," Severus replied in a low tone. "I'm beside you. Lead the way."

When they entered the small private room, Severus was rather shocked at the sight of the burly teenager in such a deteriorated state. The boy's face was swollen around at least ten deep slashes that spanned from hairline to chin. His large hamhock body seemed smaller too, and it was wrapped from neck to toe in white gauze that showed the absorbed ooze from deep wounds that were struggling to seal themselves. "Watch for the appearance of other muggles," Severus warned as he raised his wand to do a simple assessment charm, looking for dark magic. He was disgusted to find his own signature spell indicators. Whoever had attacked this boy had used _sectum sempra._ It had to have been a Voldemort affiliate. But whom?

"Can you help him?" Petunia asked, breaking into uncontrolled sobs and pulling a tissue from a carton near Dudley's bed.

"Yes," Severus said. He paused, weighing his next request, but knew it was necessary. "But in return, Madam, I want your word that you will not cooperate further with Cornelius Fudge." When Petunia raised wild eyes in his general direction, he knew his suspicions had been correct. "I do not know who was responsible for the attack, but you can be quite certain that it began with Fudge. He is not in his right mind, and he has made a target of Harry. Whether or not you approve of his attitude toward your nephew, it would be very foolish of you to believe that his actions have any valid purpose, or to try to assume that this situation is not connected."

"Of course not!" Petunia spat. She checked herself for having lost control. "I will not respond to him again, Severus. I promise."

Severus couldn't help himself. "If it had been Harry who had received these injuries because of your willingness to align with Minister Fudge, would you have any remorse?"

Petunia pressed her lips together. She was visibly shaking. "I know what you think of me, what you've _always_ thought of me. I could not _love_ that boy. All that I could see was the danger that having him near was putting us all in! What happened to Dudley is something I've feared since Potter showed up on our doorstep! I'm surprised that it took so long to happen!"

Severus dropped his _disillusionment_ spell and recast a _notice-me-not_ on the windows and doorway so that he could face off with Petunia, outside of the awareness of the hospital staff. She visibly started at his reappearance. "You turned on Lily because of her friendship with me, didn't you?"

"Everything changed when you came around!" Petunia said bitterly. "What would you expect? We were _children! _You took my best friend from me! _I've never had another!"_

Severus was not unaffected by her words, and knew he had also demonstrated a similar redirection of his anger at innocent parties, but he couldn't help needing to say out loud, "Petunia, you and I are of a similar ilk. We lash out when we are hurt, and have hurt many innocent souls because of it. Harry has suffered extensively from this. Do you not have any desire to conclude your hatred of your nephew? To see him for who he truly is?"

"Not while my son is lying there, dying, no!" she spat back. "If you are nursing a guilty conscience over Harry, that's not my concern. You're welcome to him!"

"I will heal your son, but I will come after _you_ if you give any further aid to those who aim to harm Harry," Severus said severely. His own conscience was battling itself over his hypocrisy as he turned to begin incanting the healing charm for the Dursley boy's wounds. There would be scarring, but Severus had a fleeting thought that the reminder of what people could be _pushed to do_ when treated poorly would be a good thing for this muggle family. Severus shut off further reflection of how lucky they all were that _Harry_ had not responded with violence to their mistreatment of him.

Dudley's coloring began to change as Severus worked. Petunia crept a little bit closer, continuing to cry softly, and too fearful of being hit with the magic in play to step beside her son's bed and take his hand as she longed to do. Severus cast a sleeping spell on Dudley to keep him from awakening for another day. It would be too suspicious to the muggle healers that his condition had changed so dramatically. The muggle news crew outside the hospital would further exacerbate a declaration of "miracle healing" by broadcasting it to the world. _Let the young whale-boy sleep._

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"Harry, perhaps if you take a seat on my other side, we could have a chat with your uncle," Rebecca Chase suggested, clearly thinking this was a good idea.

Harry looked up at Remus, and saw that his suspicious frown had only intensified over the past quarter hour that they'd all been gathered there, silently waiting for an update on Dudley.

"Perhaps it would be better for you to come stand with us, Madam Chase," Remus said in a growl that told Harry something was definitely off.

Harry flashed a look of alarm at the social worker, which she returned as she quickly jumped to her feet. Vernon Dursley suddenly shot up and grabbed Madam Chase. Harry and Remus lunged toward her, and Harry got a hand on her arm just as "Uncle Vernon" _disapparated_ them both away.

"Dammit!" Remus yelled, oblivious to the scrambling of startled hospital workers who glanced into the room to see a lone individual who was clearly venting his terror over a loved one's predicament. Remus pulled out his galleon in time to read a message from Harry.

_…__We're at Riddle Manor, in Little Hangleton… __ in the house _on the back of the property…. I don't know who the wizard is…. but the real Uncle Vernon is here too…

Remus spun at the sound of rushing footsteps, already girding up for Severus' tirade. But the potions master stayed mute with his rage, entering the room and casting another _notice-me-not_ before giving Remus a look that said very testily, _well?_ Remus nodded and they both _disapparated_ in unison.

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"This can only end in two ways, and you're going to die in either one," Harry warned the impostor version of his uncle. He was surprisingly not frightened by this turn of events, so it wasn't much effort to speak with disdain. "You're out of your league."

He was desperate to find out who was behind the disguise, and not above using his natural inclination to taunt (now, where had he learned _that?)_ to get a response from the other wizard. Like his uncle and social worker, Harry was wrapped in painful bindings that bit into his flesh, but the muggles were in worse shape, having vomited on themselves after the violence to their systems from _disapparation._ The room reeked of sick, and yet the disguised wizard was completely unaffected. Wanting to help Dean's aunt, Harry imagined Madam Chase's blouse to be clean and it suddenly was, but she still looked to be extremely nauseated. He left Uncle Vernon's mess as-is for the moment. He knew he could release them all from their bindings, but needed to first think of a way to get them safely out of this dilapidated house they were in. And, what _was it_ with dilapidated buildings and these evil psychopaths, anyway?

"Shut up, little boy," Impostor Vernon spat, bringing Harry back to the present. "You're done. I'm simply waiting for the traitorous Severus to come as well, so that I can finish you both, together."

Harry couldn't help the thrill of fear that rushed up his spine. Who _was_ this bastard? He looked over at the real Vernon Dursley. "Did you get a look at him before he changed into you?" he asked his uncle.

Vernon's complexion was a deep lobster red, and his mouth was full of the spittle that always gathered when he was the most angry. _"You all look alike to me!"_ he sputtered.

Harry glared at him as he wondered how Severus and the others had responded to his message. "I think Dudley will be okay," he told his uncle matter-of-factly. "My _new_ guardian was helping him when this bastard took us away."

The impostor Vernon laughed harshly. "Of course he was helping the boy, Harry. He knows _exactly_ how to reverse that spell, since it was one of his best creations! The Dark Lord lauded him with enormous praise, insisting that we all learn it."

_That_ got to Harry. He shut his mouth in confusion and reined himself back into his thoughts. There was always a reality check flashing up, just when he was letting himself feel completely free to trust and admire Severus. The result was always the return of that feeling of being _alone._ In this case, it was because he could never imagine himself feeling enough hatred to create a spell that shredded people to bits. Oh, Harry wanted revenge, and he wanted people like Bellatrix and Wormtail to die. But he wanted the endings to be a result of their own actions, not by someone he trusted acting in cold blood.

_CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!_

_CRACK! CRACK-CRACK-CRACK! CRACK!_

They all reacted differently to the sound of the new arrivals. Both muggles startled dramatically and Uncle Vernon whimpered. Harry flinched, hoping beyond hope that it meant help was here, as he watched Impostor Vernon raise his hand and give him an exaggerated buck-toothed grin, wiggling his fingers in a very familiar way as he _disapparated_ from the scene. Harry flashed back to that night by the Whomping Willow in third year. _Wormtail!_

Severus and Remus entered the room a second later, followed by Arthur and Bill Weasley, Dawlish, Kinglsey and Hestia Jones.

"He's gone!" Harry said anxiously. He looked at Severus intently. "Who's at Hogwarts?"

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The way that Severus had made his way to Harry and looked him over with concern had not been lost on the Order members, who were openly observing this side of Severus Snape. When Severus cupped his hand around Harry's head to pull him in for a tight hug, Harry could hear his heart pounding. He hugged his guardian back and put his agitated thoughts aside for the moment at this sign of vulnerability in Severus.

"Now, now, Mr. Dursley, you might want to consider taking advantage of magical transport on this occasion," Mr. Weasley was saying coaxingly to Harry's uncle. "You'll see your son all the sooner this way."

"I'll do nothing of the sort! Not with _your_ lot!" Vernon spat, literally, leaving flecks of bubbly spittle on Arthur's muggle suit jacket.

"You were _raised_ by him, Harry?" Bill asked in disgust as he cast a _scourgify_ over his father's clothes, wrinkling his nose as he did the same to Vernon's shirt front. "Just get him out of here, Dad, he doesn't deserve any say in how we help him!"

Rebecca Chase thanked Harry for looking out for her. "You really are a remarkable young man, Harry," she said with a shaky smile. "Very brave, and very crafty." The last was accented by her gesturing at the front of her blouse. They all turned to see that Arthur had taken Uncle Vernon's arm and _cracked_ away with him. "And I concur with that other man that it's quite amazing that you are _you,_ after being confined through your childhood with the likes of Vernon Dursley."

Harry gave her a strained smile. "I'm glad you're alright," he said.

Remus had been in discussion with Hestia and Dawlish, but when he heard the pause in the conversation between Harry and Rebecca Chase, he come over with the other Order members. "John and Hestia will get you home safely," he said. "You'll be quite secure there with Albus Dumbledore's wards protecting you, but you'll need to remain in your home until we can be certain we've captured the one responsible for all of this."

"I will happily comply," Madam Chase said. "I'm very grateful to you all."

Harry stood by with a pinched look of intense anxiety on his face, not at all happy that they had not yet left to return to Hogwarts. Severus gave his neck a squeeze so he looked up at his guardian.

"I've warned Lucius to watch the map," the potions master said quietly. "He'll alert us." Severus watched Harry wrestle with something. "Are you hurt, son?" he asked, calling Harry _son_ without really thinking about it. When Harry's eyes shot up to meet his, there was a whole new world of angst there. _Now what?_

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Severus spun on Lupin as soon as the others had _cracked_ away in departure. "You pathetic idiot! This could have ended very badly!" he seethed, letting further unspoken accusations speak volumes about his perception of the werewolf's defensive tactics.

"Don't blame Remus!" Harry said in alarm. "It happened so-"

"No, Harry, Severus is right," Remus said, ducking his head in a consenting bow, taking responsibility. "I knew that man was an impostor. I was weighing the merits of acting in front of Madam Chase, and delayed my decision far too long."

Harry sighed in frustration at the resurfacing of Severus' nasty temper. "The truth is, I wasn't in danger. I could have protected myself," he said emphatically. "At the very least, I could have put up my shield. Wormtail isn't strong enough to break through it."

Severus didn't like the sound of Harry's confidence, and his face obviously reflected this because Harry reacted defensively.

"I've told you, I _know_ my limits! I know I can't handle a lot of stuff, but I _could_ have gotten us out of this mess on the spot. I just didn't want Wormtail to know about my wild magic yet, so I played along!" Now Remus and Severus were exchanging a look of shared alarm at Harry's claims. Harry didn't know why he was so enraged at this, but he was. He had the good sense to shut up, however, not wanting to feed the open flame of reprimand he knew he'd just ignited in both Severus and Remus. He thought resentfully about that spell of Severus'. At least he hadn't openly contributed to the evil they were all battling.

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"I'm going to say this once, young man, and I want you to hear it clearly," Severus said sternly after he'd snatched Harry's arm, tugged him into his side, and _disapparated_ with him to the Hogwarts gates. He was responding to the inner alarm bells that had _CLANGED, quite_ loudly, when he'd heard that cockiness in Harry's declaration of having it all under control. He waved his wand and the gates creaked open while he retook Harry's arm and started the long hike up to the castle. Harry had his head ducked down, so Severus could not see his expression as he lectured, "You are _fifteen._ You are _not_ completely developed, neither magically nor physically. Yes, you are accomplished for your age, and yes, you have a very powerful alternative source of magic that is unique. It comes in quite handy in many situations. But you _do not_ have it mastered. The _worst possible_ thing that you could do would be to make the assumption that you have."

Harry was seething. He was so wound up, he couldn't put words together to respond. Severus stopped walking and turned Harry to face him, attempting to cup his chin and make him look up. But Harry jerked his head away and resumed walking. "Fine. I get it!" he said angrily. He was stopped again, and this time when he saw Severus' thunderous expression, he realized he was pushing his luck.

"The fatherly thing to do in this situation would be to turn you over my knee to make this point very clear," Severus said dangerously. Harry reacted as he'd expected, by taking a step backwards and shutting his expression down into the indifferent mask that had hidden so much from so many people in times past. "Ah, now I have your attention," Severus said, still stern and unrelenting.

_CRACK!_

They both turned to see who had just arrived in time to pass through the slowly closing gates. It was Fudge.

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"Severus, Harry, I've come to make one final attempt at getting Harry's cooperation before I return with a team of aurors to remove him into Ministry custody-"

Harry rolled his eyes as Severus cut the round little politician off with his already terse and very impatient tone. "Enough, Fudge. You need to leave. You are acting outside of the law, and I will do what I must to protect my ward from the threat you continue to pose." To Harry, he said quietly, "Look at his eyes. He is not himself."

Harry realized Severus was right. Fudge had the glazed eyes of one who is operating under the _Imperius_ curse.

Severus removed his coin to call for backup just as another _CRACK_ rented the air and damned if it wasn't Dolores Umbridge, who in spite of her bulk and horribly juvenile fashion sense, was rather quick and very powerful, and she caught Harry with a spell that blew him backwards and out of their view.

_"Harry!"_ Severus yelled in alarm.

_"__Hem hemmm,"_ Umbridge dramatically cleared her throat, wand aimed at Severus, as if she believed she had him under control. She took several confident steps towards him while he waited to see what her game was. "The school's wards have not been reset to keep me out, have they Severus? Was that an oversight on _your_ part? Or, on Minerva's?"

"How do you know it was an oversight, and not part of a grand plan?" Severus returned. "You should lower your wand, witch. I will hurt you, quite severely, if you do not." _Where was Harry?_

Dolores laughed her simpering girlish laugh, ending it on another _hem hemmm!_ "You and your foster child are of no threat to Cornelius and I. I am the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, and you, sir, are fired!"

Severus nearly laughed at that, but was distracted from the desire when a dozen more _CRACKS!_ sounded just outside the gates, revealing a slew of demonic, demented individuals, all of whom had a vendetta against him for betraying Voldemort.

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Harry crept among the shadows imagining his message to the other coin holders as he moved: _…Severus is surrounded at the gates… Umbridge with Fudge, he's imperio'd… more just arrived…. a lot of them…. ten galleons they've come for the diadem…_

He reached up to rub his scar, not immediately registering the increasing tingling sensation.


	16. Chapter 16

**_A/N: Well, it wasn't as fast as I'd hoped, but it's sooner than "the new normal." Full credit goes to the lovely "julesa66" for a fab suggestion that resulted in the "hangup hex." Hope you likey!_**

Chapter 16 - EM-E - Unmitigated Gall - Part II

When Harry pulled his hand back from his face, he was shocked to see fresh blood on his fingers. A quick search of his scalp revealed a bleeding gash that must have come from one of the low branches he'd skidded into, and of course as soon as he identified it, it began to sting pretty badly. He'd also landed hard on his left side, mostly on his bum, and _that_ burning pain was an ironic follow-up to Severus' threat of a spanking. Harry struggled to focus, beginning to shake as he realized there was real trouble barreling into his life, _again,_ and anything could go wrong. But after the way Severus had torn into him a few moments ago, Harry's confidence was faltering_._

He circled around, staying out of sight beneath a ridge that obscured view of him from the path that Severus was on, and from all of the intruders. His teeth were chattering, more from nerves than cold, but it was quite cold. Snow was on the ground, and the afternoon light was beginning to dim into dusk. _We won't be able to see soon._ He could hear snide threats and taunts being spouted off at Severus, and his guardian's baritone replies that sounded calm and unaffected. Harry peeked through a gap in a clump of brush that he'd stayed ducked behind while he'd scrambled along, and now the ever-present knots in his stomach tightened so dramatically he nearly gasped. Severus was literally being confronted by twelve dark wizards, including Umbridge and Fudge. Harry felt paralyzed with fear. His instincts were not telling him what to do. He was ready to shield Severus, but knew he'd run out of strength after a while, and that might put them in an even worse spot if one of the horcruxes came into play. Where were the others?

There was a soft _pop_ about twenty feet away, and Harry shot a look over his shoulder and down the incline to see that Remus and Lucius had just been delivered by Fawkes. The beautiful red phoenix _popped_ away again very quietly. Harry pointed over his head and held up a single finger on one hand and two on the other, mouthing _twelve_ to the older wizards. Lucius pointed at Harry and held up his hand as if he was gesturing to a dog to _stay._ Harry nodded. He hadn't been lying when he'd told them all he didn't want to do this alone. Truth be told, he didn't want to do it at all.

But then his scar began to prickle. He pointed at it and got a terse nod from Lucius. Remus crept over to take a look at the scene from Harry's vantage point. "We're slightly outnumbered," he whispered to Harry, giving him an assessing look. "How badly are you hurt?"

"Just scratches," Harry whispered back. His scar irritation was getting more noticeable. "There's a horcrux nearby. Probably the snake. Remus, be careful."

"If we get separated, save your magic to protect yourself, Harry," Remus advised, gently squeezing Harry's shoulder. "Otherwise your guardian will have a credible reason to murder me." He took a peek over the incline and had a look at the scene.

"Why hasn't anyone attacked yet?" Harry whispered.

"My guess is that they're trying to lure you and Severus out of the gates so that they can overpower you and _disapparate_ you away," Remus answered quietly. "We, on the other hand, want them _inside_ the gates so that they _can't_ get out."

"Is more help coming? The Order?"

"Hopefully."

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Severus had felt the warm vibration of his coin and known that Harry had notified the others, which had also calmed his nerves about the boy being injured. At least he was conscious. Now the coin activated again, which he took to mean that he was no longer the only one on hand besides Harry to fend off these bastards.

Umbridge had made a show of reversing the direction of the gates, so that they were now wide open. Severus could have overridden her acts, but actually considered this to be helpful. Now she was taking steps toward him again. She passed Fudge, who fell in behind her for a half dozen paces. "You have been relieved of your post here, Severus. You need to leave the grounds, immediately."

_"__Make. Me."_

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Harry managed a crooked smile as he heard the trademark Snape taunt in that tone. If Harry couldn't get 'ol Dolores back for the way she'd treated him this past term, he'd be happy to watch someone as powerful as Severus handle her for him.

"And here we go," Remus said under his breath, "I'll be just up there. Say out of sight if you can." Now he was laying on his belly to creep up the incline and away from Harry.

Harry stayed hidden but moved away by a few yards. He put his shield up around himself and went to have a careful look to make sure he was out of reach of the attackers.

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Umbridge responded to Severus' threat with a lethal disemboweling curse. He deflected and she shielded in the flash of an instant. Severus kept an eye on the rest of the intruders while he fired off a selection of his most favored disabling hexes, ones that target the knee and elbow joints, cracked spines, crushed limbs, etc. He kept a steady rhythm, wand arm slashing away, keeping the pink cow engaged in a way that he knew from experience would get the other Death Eaters itching to join in. How had she aligned herself with them, anyway? Severus took stock of those assembled, and other than Fenrir Greyback and Dolores, knew the rest to be far less capable wizards, all riffraff and taggers-on, who would have been called to battle by Voldemort because they could be counted on to be unpredictable in their desperation to participate.

Lucius made an appearance off to Severus' left and cast a horrendous blasting spell at Umbridge that she only just managed to deflect. Remus appeared on Severus' right and took advantage of the weakened and unshielded opening on the former DADA professor's left flank after Lucius' curse. The new DADA professor crossed his left arm over the crook of his right elbow and bent his wand arm upward as he cast the _hangup hex_, sending Hogwart's High Inquisitor flying undaintily through the air and coming to a standstill, about ten feet off the ground with her black Mary Jane patent leathers dangling beneath her, as if she was suspended by her collar from a hook. _For Harry, compliments of Sirius, _Remus thought, as he spun his wand in first clockwise and then counter clockwise motions, watching her spin in fiercely propelled circles. He heard Lucius' amused snort and flicked his wand up and down, making the pink clad witch bounce like she was suspended from bungee cords. Her howls of rage and fear as she soared upward and plummeted downward seemed to echo across the grounds.

"Enough, please!" Lucius begged between guffaws of laughter, "I've had way too much tea in the last hour to be able to withstand much more hysteria."

Severus saw his chance and slashed off a spell he called _reciperare_ at a wizard named Calvin.

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Harry knew he would laugh later at the way Remus was handling 'ol Dolores, but he was too anxious to ignore the alert from his scar to let amusement distract him from the real danger _he_, especially, was in. If it was Nagini that was causing that pain, she would be coming for _him._ Harry checked his senses for any signs of being _pulled,_ but there were none yet, so he watched Severus cast the spell that appeared to lasso a younger wizard around his ankles and drag him from the outer crowd, inside the gates, and up the hill, pulling him towards the center of the _dream team's_ V formation. Umbridge continued to dance around in the air, her shrill threats of retribution wasted on the deliberate and exaggerated efforts Remus was making to keep her in motion, chatting animatedly with Lucius, who made a show of giving him suggestions for more ways to toss her about.

The response from the rest of the Death Eaters was like a magnetic attraction. The remaining nine miscreants broke into an enraged roar and charged through the gates after their mate. Nervous now, Harry scooted further along to a spot where he could obscure himself behind a large jagged rock. He kept his shield intact and tried to control his agitated breathing as he watched the ruckus through an obscured view. To be safe, he cast a _silencio_ on himself.

Things went completely mad after that. Harry's eyes darted around the clearing, attempting to track all that was happening, and watched as the _dream team_ simultaneously took down three of those charging Death Eaters for good. Someone hit Fudge with a blasting hex and he suddenly landed a few feet from Harry, wand in hand and ready to attack. Harry could see the glaze of enchantment in the Minister of Magic's eyes as the older wizard scrambled to his feet and fired off a brutal hex that Harry didn't recognize, but he felt its impact on his shield and knew he would have been killed if it had gotten to him. Wary of drawing further attention to himself, Harry disarmed Fudge with a silent _expeliarmus_ enhanced with his wild magic.

A split second later, Harry had the MOM's wand in his hand when a flash of lethal green light hit Fudge in the back... and he dropped to the ground, dead….

Stunned at the sight, Harry spun to see who had cast the _avada kedavra_ he just knew had been meant for him, and found a very imposing wizard who was far more hairy than any one male human should be. The predatory energy coming off of him was terrifying. Harry stood his ground, but he was not at all certain that he could shield himself from the killing curse. When the wizard he would later find out was Fenrir Greyback, the one who'd turned Remus into a werewolf when he was little, aimed his wand at Harry again, Harry did what he always did. He acted on the instincts that kicked back in, just in time.

_"__Lapsus_ _sido!" _Harry yelled, enhancing the spell with wild magic, while still maintaining both his silencing charm and his shield. He watched in satisfaction as Greyback's feet pulled out from beneath him, _to the back_, so that he fell on his face too quickly to brace himself. The _thunk_ of his body, accented with a _HUUNH!_ of a grunt, was almost satisfying. Harry waited to see if the spell would work the way he'd designed it to, as Greyback jumped back to his feet to resume his attack. The corner of Harry's mouth pulled into a strained smile as the tenured werewolf's feet pulled out from beneath him again, inducing another _thunk_ and _HUUNH!_

And the loop continued, keeping Greyback occupied while Harry retreated backward to where he had been with Remus just moments prior.

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Severus, Lupin and Lucius _zipped_ their magic across the small clearing, casting and shielding, watching for Wormtail, - and because Lucius had shouted to Severus, "His scar is hurting," - watching for the snake. Their spells were intentionally only strong enough to disrupt the attack while they kept the Death Eaters in play until Ministry-sanctioned Law Enforcement could arrive to remove them. They all saw Fudge go down, and were trying not to be distracted by the oddly amusing sight of Fenrir Greyback falling down and standing up, falling down and standing up. _Thunk / HUUNH! / thunk / HUUNH!_

Lucius groaned loudly over the noise of their magical conflict as he tried to stop himself from laughing.

"I'll relieve Harry," Remus said. He wasn't laughing as he charged down the incline. He was hard pressed to determine who he felt more lethal hatred towards, Fenrir Greyback or Peter Pettigrew.

"Do not kill him in front of the boy, Lupin," Severus said grimly, but the werewolf couldn't have heard him. "Enough of this!" He waved his wand and the two despots he'd been toying with were hogtied, along with the two that Lupin had stunned before he'd taken off. "Where the hell is Albus?" Severus yelled in irritation. He _did not_ like not having Harry within his sights with this kind of mayhem underway.

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"Leave him to me, Harry," Remus said from behind Harry.

Harry spun to face the older wizard. "Are you going to kill him?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, I'd hardly be justified," Remus said insincerely as he glared at the hairy deviant that continued to be stuck in the loop of Harry's spell.

"I can't lose you, too, Remus," Harry said brokenly. And they both remembered how he'd talked Sirius out of killing Wormtail for the same reasons.

Remus blinked and instantly shook off his vengeful rage. "And you shan't, Harry," he said, battling his longstanding reserve at being physically demonstrative, only confident enough to squeeze Harry's shoulder in spite of the rush of affection he was feeling. "But that son of a bitch is not getting to go free again." He flicked his wand at Greyback at the moment the hairy wizard was facedown on the ground. _"Revelo. Restringero."_ Harry's hex ended and Remus slashed his arm in a dramatic figure eight making a whistling sound that was literally like a lasso twirling. The result was a rather fantastically fast and very alarming style of restraint that left Fenrir Greyback facedown over arms crossed round his torso, revealing his hands at his hips, where they each grabbed and held the opposite foot.

It looked extremely painful and frankly implausible to Harry, but he smirked in satisfaction at the sight. And then he was muttering, "Oh, no!" and clasping his forehead as the burn in his scar soared to a point of causing his knees to buckle, and _the pull_ kicked in. He stumbled around from his hiding place and looked for Severus and Lucius so that he could spread his shield around the _dream team,_ who were each instantly aware of his distress. Harry kept looking back towards the Forbidden Forest, expecting to see the snake coming from that direction.

"Harry!" Severus yelled.

Harry spun back to see what had alarmed Severus, just as they heard a _POP!_ of _apparition_ and Dumbledore appeared in their midst via Fawkes. The elderly wizard raised both extended arms over his head and clasped them before swooping them downward as if to illustrate a gust of strong wind, and all of the felled intruders were swept bumpily along the ground, and outside of the school gates. Harry looked frantically around for Nagini as he pressed his hand to his scar, and finally the snake appeared on the other side of the now closed gates, slithering in and among the restrained dark wizards, inducing wails of fright from those who were conscious. But she was not interested in them. She was looking for Harry.

"She can't get in from this side, Harry," Albus told him. "And there is limited space on the grounds where she can access you, which I have minimized further with new warding. As long as you stay away from the Forbidden Forest, and the Lake, you will be fine."

"Really?" Harry said, still gasping from the pain.

"Yes," Severus said from beside him. "Let's get you inside."

Harry felt Severus' arm encircle his shoulders and he was being gently turned and moved away. The _pulling_ sensation was dissipating now, and so was the pain in his scar.

"A tribute to you, Harry," Lucius called after them.

Harry didn't really follow, until he heard, _"Vox vocis - voilá!"_ and then an instantaneously obnoxious onslaught of shrill French language diatribes, as undoubtedly all twelve captives were being induced to contribute, and they were undoubtedly each still agitated by the appearance of the snake. _That_ made Harry laugh. He looked up at Severus and caught his scowl of disgust and laughed harder, knowing that this was equally intended by Lucius. But after a few steps, Harry sobered again, as the weight of aftermath settled over him.

"What's going on with the Order?" he asked Severus. "Why didn't any of them show up?" He accepted the pain reliever potion that Severus handed him and downed it as they walked, aware of Severus also dosing himself.

"There had been an emergency assembly of all aurors at the Ministry this afternoon. Madam Bones is in the process of restructuring the Office of Magical Law Enforcement, and there was literally no legal team to call on at this very moment," Severus explained. "This is an example of the hardship we will be facing in the coming weeks."

"Yeah," Harry said. "All of that drama, and for what? Wormtail didn't even show up, did he?"

"Not to our knowledge, Harry, but we both know he can get past the wards in his rat form. He doesn't need the Hogwarts Express to gain entrance."

Harry remained subdued as they made their way up the hill and down to the dungeons. Once they were in the lower corridors, Severus looked him over. The boy was filthy and had blood stains and skid marks all over his clothes. "How badly are you hurt?" he asked Harry.

"Just scratches," Harry muttered dismissively. His mind had wandered back to their earlier confrontation that had been in full swing when Fudge had interrupted them. Severus had thought he was being cocky… but that hadn't been it. _I _was_ being rude, though,_ he admitted, feeling confused and conflicted. He'd been really, really angry, and unable to understand it for himself, let alone try to explain it now. The overwhelming desire to go to sleep hit him again.

Severus worried about the injuries Harry was not admitting he had, and about the reasons behind his denial. Something had shifted that had caused Harry to guard himself again, and the little idiot ought to know by now that Severus found this intolerable. "Do you want to talk about our argument earlier?" he asked.

Harry flashed a troubled look at him then, replying with a flat, "We weren't arguing, sir. You were telling me off, and I was being defensive."

"And that's it?" Severus chided, reading hurt in Harry's tone.

"I think you were misunderstanding me," Harry said, "but I shouldn't have been rude to you. I'm sorry."

Severus stopped and turned Harry to face him. It was then that Harry noticed that his guardian was bleeding on his side and his eyes bugged wide open. "I've already healed it, do not concern yourself," Severus said, lifting his bloodstained shirt up so show Harry the knitted slash on his abdomen. "Healed," he repeated. "How was I misunderstanding you? What were you trying to relay to me?" He used his wand to syphon off the dried blood from Harry's temple and the side of his face while he waited, then found the cut on his scalp and healed it as well. "Hmmm?"

Conflict was causing Harry's stomach to roil. "I don't know," he murmured. "Honestly, I need to think about it, I guess."

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Severus had allowed Harry to deflect further discussion while they had another battle of wills over Harry's scrapes and bruises from his fall after Umbridge's curse. Severus had no intention of violating his ward's sense of privacy, but he was terribly curious about what was behind the embarrassment. He indulged Harry by handing him a jar of bruise balm before he went to have a shower, and refrained from forcing the subject again until well after dinner, when the boy had disappeared into his room.

"Do you want to tell me what is behind the wall you've put up between us?" Severus asked directly as he pulled Harry's desk chair over beside his bed and sat.

Harry glared at the ceiling. He'd had a chance to reflect on the things that had gone through his mind that day. "What's the name of that slicing spell that was used on all of those kids at Dudley's school?" he asked, accusation coloring his angry tone.

Severus' expression shuttered, and he felt the rise in his own shame as strongly as he felt if from Harry. "It's called _Sectum_ _sempra,"_ he admitted grimly.

"Wormtail said Voldemort was so impressed by your creation, he made everyone learn it," Harry said, now glaring directly at Severus, unrelenting because he felt defensive at the way Severus always seemed ready to assume _he_ would make up something as awful.

Severus nodded, and Harry couldn't read what was behind the older wizard's masked countenance. "I developed that one in my sixth year."

Harry blinked. "Oh," he said. "So, after you'd lost my mum's friendship?"

Now Severus blinked. Obviously, Harry knew a lot more about his past than he'd realized. "What else do you know, young man, and how do you know this?" he demanded, unable to scale back the snarl that always surfaced when his worst losses were called to fact.

"I know enough to put together that you justified your attitude toward me by telling yourself I was like my dad," Harry said matter-of-factly, "and that you'd been the best of friends with my mum. Until fifth year. Until that day that I saw in your pensieved memory." He felt impatient to get this off his chest and didn't think it was fair that he had to wait for Severus to catch up to things that had already happened for Harry. Even though that was not his guardian's fault. "Look, it's bugging me that you made up that spell, okay?"

"And it's _haunted_ me for years," Severus grated. He held the boy's glare with equal tension. "It's been used in hundreds of atrocities. And _I_ have to bear that. _Daily."_

"Oh," Harry said again, this time without the bluster. He sighed, his glare turning to a look of pain. "Why would you have done such a thing?"

A huge wave of remorse washed through Severus suddenly and he felt his eyes redden and threaten to fill. The instinct to snap at Harry was quite strong and it took all of his self control to hold it in. But he could not soften the bitterness in his response when he replied harshly, "You are not the only who had to make his way through childhood without a caring adult to guide him. I had _no one,_ either. I did not bond with Albus until after your parents were killed, and after the Dark Lord had disappeared. _That_ was when I pulled my head out of my arse and begged for him to help me." He tilted his head as he took in Harry's blanched pallor. "He agreed, but I had a high penance to pay. I've had to walk a very dark path for many years, and that spell has kept me alive on numerous occasions. You have no idea how awful life can actually get, Harry. I'm not minimizing your suffering, but there is a whole other _realm_ that you could have been forced into. One where you see the _very worst_ of yourself, out of necessity, and out of survival. You told me that you'd come to see yourself as a "pawn" on Albus' chess board. I have been one for _fifteen years,_ and still, my past haunts me_._ I can only do what I can do as of _today _to try to make up for that, son. That is the best I can offer." He softened his tone in spite of his inner turmoil because Harry's eyes had filled and he looked like he might be sick as he stared back at Severus. "If you are going to allow me to have a parental role in your life in the future, Harry, you're going to have to accept this."

Harry turned on his side, facing Severus. "I just need to work through it, Severus. I haven't turned on you."

They stared at each other, both battling tumultuous emotion. The result was visible in the way they were each panting as they struggled to hold onto control of a very complicated reaction to what had just been shared between them. Finally Severus nodded his head, blinking his reddened eyes and heaving in an unsteady breath as he crossed his arms and leaned back into the chair. "Then close your eyes and sleep. I'll attempt to compose myself."


	17. Chapter 17

**_A/N: Lest I forget - Thank you to all of the guest reviewers. I soooo appreciate your feedback! _****_I took advantage of the holiday weekend here in the U.S. in the best possible way. Moving on…_**

Chapter 17 - EM-E - Moving On - Part I

Harry lay on his back, staring at his ceiling, replaying what Severus had said to him last night, and remembering how it had made him feel as though he'd been slammed into the ground again, like he'd felt when he'd woken up from the time turning spell. But at the same time, Harry had felt how raw Severus' shame was, which was forcing him to realize the world was far larger than his fifteen year old mind could hope to understand. He needed Severus's guidance for just that reason, and it was a bit strange to realize that he felt closer to his guardian even after what he'd been forced to see about Severus yesterday. But it also had to mean that Severus trusted him a little bit, since he could have bitten Harry's head off for being a judgmental idiot, instead of explaining himself. Not only that, but Severus had essentially indicated that he expected this new future that Harry was currently living to play out the way it had been going for them in the other timeline, as in, they were going to stay connected even after Harry became emancipated. That was an incredible relief and made Harry feel a lot less trapped than he had been feeling, even just yesterday. He could tell Severus cared about him now, maybe not enough to want to adopt him, but as much as he had by this day on the last timeline….

That acknowledegement sent Harry off on a tangent where he found himself summarizing the parallels between the timelines, and he realized that a lot of the events had occurred again, just in different contexts:

_…__Harry had killed Voldemort by himself… Severus had been slashed in battle while protecting him… Lucius had fixed Harry's vision… the _dream team_ had come together, and just like previously, you'd think they'd practiced their moves together before stepping into battle… Severus was Harry's guardian, and he supported Harry's Emancipation… Harry had a room in Severus' quarters (although this time it was bigger and had that cool wardrobe), and he'd gotten all new clothes… Fudge had been killed… Rebecca Chase had been kidnapped…_

Harry sat up with his heart in his throat. With all of the parallels and repeats of events… Hedwig was the only one that came to mind who was defying the odds! What if she was still going to die?

There was a knock on his door right then, and Severus opened it and stepped inside. "Good morning," he said, coming closer and giving Harry a narrowed-eye, assessing look. "What. in the world. are you. thinking. about?" He asked slowly. He waited _nearly_ a full second before shaking his head and muttering, "Never mind. Up. I'll give you ten minutes. Lucius and I have been waiting to have breakfast with you." He spun on his heel and left with a smirk on his face as Harry sputtered indignantly.

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"Alright, I'm here," Harry said as he joined the two Slytherins at the table after a fast shower, beneath the spray of which he'd realized he was in a weird mood this morning. It was already January fifth, and all of the students were due to return tomorrow. They'd really not talked about what to expect this time around when school resumed, as they'd done on the previous timeline.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Lucius asked, pouring a cup of tea for each of them while Severus had coffee.

"I'm not really sure," Harry said honestly. He served himself French toast and bacon while he spoke, suddenly conscious of the fact that he was dining in front of one of the biggest snobs he'd ever met. _Table manners…yeah, don't have any of those… _He at least knew not to speak with food in his mouth, so he waited to take his first bite. "Last time, I'd already had a chance to talk to Draco by now, and we'd decided to try to get along better and form an alliance because of the dangers now facing the children of Voldemort supporters who'd had a change of heart a long time ago."

Lucius nodded. "How would you feel about my sharing with Draco that you'd experienced an episode of time travel?" he asked carefully. "Do you have confidence that he can be trusted with this, already knowing him in the oddly unnerving way that you know me?"

Harry smiled a small smile as he thought about that. His mind wandered from the relief that option would offer, but he knew better than to think Draco would just fall right into the better behavior. And he knew that he was on a short fuse himself…

"What are you thinking, Harry?" Severus asked as he sipped his hot coffee carefully.

Harry set his fork down, suddenly feeling overwhelmed at the realization that tomorrow was the day he had to start over with Ron and Hermione, and remembering how hard it had been that first week to shift back into boarding school student mode. Suddenly that warm sense of feeling closer to Severus again felt jeopardized. Suddenly the fear of more loss was right in his throat again. "Do you suppose I could go see Hedwig?"

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The look on Harry's face when he'd asked to visit his owl had been one of such vulnerability that Severus had said, "Of course," without giving it another thought. Harry had been visibly relieved, but still off kilter. The rest of the conversation over breakfast had been a recap by Harry of how much Granger, and by extension, Ronald Weasley, had guessed about the horcruxes, and what they could be used for if they got into the wrong hands. Harry had also told them about the students who had been troublemakers in the other houses and how those confrontations had manifested. It had been very apparent that Lucius had been present during all of those confrontations and that Harry considered him vital in that regard. By the end of the conversation, Lucius had asked Harry to use his first name when it was just them. That had clearly meant something to Harry that neither of the adult wizards understood.

And now Severus was in the process of _apparating_ his ward over to The Burrow after a brief interchange of _patronus_ messaging with Arthur and Molly. They landed just within the wards of the property. Severus kept his arm around Harry and dropped his head down to say, "Perhaps it would ease your worries about tomorrow if you reveal your secrets in full to Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley _today,_ while you are here, and can have private time to talk. But _only_ to them, understand?"

"Really?" Harry asked in shock. He leaned into his guardian's side and hugged him back when Severus' hand cupped around his head to pull it to his shoulder. "That would help a lot."

"Indeed," Severus said, giving Harry a one-armed squeeze. "Go see your owl. I will see you in a couple of hours for the lunch Molly insisted that I join, and we will return home after that."

"Yes, sir," Harry said, pulling away and flashing a wan smile as he headed over the rough dirt of the property perimeter, liking the way Severus had referred to their shared living situation has _home,_ and listening for his guardian's departing _crack!_ as he avoided the snowy patches on his way to the back door of The Burrow.

Severus watched Harry for a moment, realizing he'd experienced a significant deepening in his affection for the boy in the last twenty-four hours. Harry was officially and irrevocably in his heart, and though he could easily have said he would die for the boy before today, _today_ he knew he would die if _he lost_ Harry. He turned in place to _disapparate_ and his parting thought was… _and how in the bloody hell did I let Molly talk me into lunch at The Burrow?_

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"Harry!" Hermione called from the back stoop, skipping down the five steps and tearing out to throw her arms around him when she reached him.

"Hi, Hermione," Harry said into her hair as he hooked his chin over her shoulder. Harry flashed a grin at Ron, who was approaching him with that uncomfortable expression of his that said he already knew something about Harry's recent experiences.

"We saw you with Snape, Harry," Hermione said quietly and quickly, before Ron could hear her, "I think it's great, as long as he's being kind to you."

"He is," Harry said quickly too, but then he snorted. "Well, he has his own style of kindness, but I'm okay with it."

"Dad says you've been worrying about Hedwig," Ron said as he slapped Harry on the back in greeting. "She's fine, see?" he whistled through his fingers as if he was summoning Harry's familiar, but they all knew she'd already sensed Harry was there and was flying over to him now.

"Hedwig!" Harry said, and promptly burst into tears.

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_Well, this is getting off to a great start,_ Harry thought in disgust at himself as he swiped at his eyes. _I'm still as much of a crybaby as I'd been last time. Worse, actually._

They'd stayed outside and settled into the lawn chairs the twins had charmed with bubbles of warm air surrounding them. Harry had Hedwig on his lap and was stroking her feathers. She seemed to know that he was struggling over something having to do with her, because she kept nipping gently at his fingers and turning her head to look at him every few minutes.

"So, what's that like, Harry?" Ron asked carefully, after a long stretch of silence while he and Hermione had digested that Harry had just told them that he'd time-traveled backwards, and was almost halfway through reliving four harrowing weeks. "How have you not gone spare, trying to keep track of what's what, and while _Snape's_ looking over your shoulder?"

"It's been…," Harry shook his head. It was all unsaid again. _Everything._ All of the justification for who he cared about now, who he trusted, what he'd been through, what he'd seen, what he knew how to do.

"You've got new clothes," Hermione said with a small smile of encouragement, but her eyes were full of sympathetic emotion. "And where are your glasses?"

"Dad and Bill told us about Snape being your guardian now, and that they'd seen a whole new side of him yesterday when he was worrying about you," Ron said, trying to be encouraging, while at the same time squirming in revulsion.

"I don't suppose I can ask you to just believe that Severus is actually really great when you get to know him," Harry said feebly.

Ron barked an ironic laugh. "That's a lot to ask, Harry."

"By the second week of school, you were already changing your mind about him," Harry said. "Wait 'til you see him in battle, that's all I can say."

Ron's eyebrows shot up at that. _"In battle?_ 'Xactly what's going to happen at Hogwarts, Harry?"

"Hopefully nothing, but there's still a lot of danger." _Nagini, Wormtail, the diadem, Bellatrix Lestrange and her bloody cup… My scar._ When he saw the expressions of trepidation on his friends' faces, he felt a little better, knowing that they were starting to get it. "It's so much more than _that_ even, honestly," Harry said, clearing the emotion from his throat, but his eyes were still spilling over. "It was really hard last time because I didn't get to tell you guys as much at first, but you figured it out anyway. Ron had a rough time with my new alliances, and you did too at little bit, Hermione. And it's not that I don't get _why,_ it's just that there's no time, or room for it, in what I've got to handle."

"So just say it," Ron said. He'd been badly affected by Harry's breaking down like this. He'd only seen Harry cry that one other time after the graveyard, and this meant that things must be _that_ bad. "I'll do what I have to do to handle it, mate."

Harry smirked at him, in spite of his red nose, "Be careful what you promise, Ron." He took a sip of the party punch Mrs. Weasley had hovered out to them, and girded up his nerve. "Look, I'm just going to lay it out. I'm friends with the Malfoys now, well, I'm not yet with Draco, but he's going to be let in on the secret about my time-traveling too. Lucius has gone into deadly situations several times already and put my safety over his own. He's betrayed this Death Eater peers, well he's been doing it for way longer than anybody knew, and so now he's a target, and so is Draco. Lucius fixed my eyes, so I don't need glasses anymore. All of this is kind of a side effect of the really hard stuff," he paused, realizing he was rambling and that he ought to give Ron a moment to digest this. He was a little worried at the way his best friend's eyes were bulging out of their sockets. Hermione had her hand over her mouth and a very worried look, but she was listening. "The hard part is that even though I killed Voldemort's body, I didn't kill _him,_ and there are parts of him still existing in enchanted objects called horcruxes that can be used to bring him back." Now he turned to Ron. "The diary was one. They're unbelievably powerful and they turn anyone who touches them into absolute bastards at the very least, and mini Voldemorts in the worst case. And I've seen both instances at this point."

"What are those other objects, Harry?" Hermione said, and Harry could tell she was already picking up on his angst.

"Er, well, there were seven of them. We've destroyed two more after the diary," he said shakily. He told them about the locket, ring, diadem and Hufflepuff cup. And then he told them what's required to destroy a horcrux, and what happened to him when that sandy black smoke came looking for him. "Voldemort's snake is one too," he added, but his throat was tightening up.

"That's six, Harry," Hermione said. Her eyes were spilling over. "What's the last one?"

Harry tapped his scar. Ron reacted the same way the adult wizards had that day in the ROR, by jumping to his feet and storming several paces away, as if the space was going to make it easier to process the information. Harry gulped, and after a few moments, found his voice again enough to tell them about the MRI, and Hermione's suggestion that he could shield himself from whatever had to be done to kill his horcrux. Neither of his friends knew _how_ he could shield himself yet, and he didn't elaborate. Ron kept his back to them for several minutes while he struggled with his own composure, finally blotting his eyes on his sleeve and coming back with a look of rage on his face.

"What's being done for you, Harry?" he demanded, dropping heavily back into his chair.

"Er, what do you mean?" Harry asked. "I've got Severus looking out for me, and Remus and Lucius. And Dumbledore."

"I mean, what's being done about what _you've_ had to go through? What's the bloody Ministry doing to thank you for killing bloody Voldemort?"

"It sounds like they're completely falling into disarray over there, actually," Harry said. He was feeling pretty grateful for Ron's outburst. And a tad of _déjà_ _vous._

"And once again, that's why we've got to resume the DA," Hermione summarized.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "I'll want to meet every week - more, if possible. I've got some awesome tricks to show- er, actually I've got tons of new stuff, between last time and this time, it's going to be pretty great."

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Harry smothered a grin, ducking his head down so that Severus couldn't see his amusement at the way the Weasleys were _making conversation_ with the evil potions master. All of the present offspring (Ron, Ginny, Fred, George and Bill) were completely unsettled by his presence at the lunch table, except Bill, who happened to be home for the weekend. But that didn't stop the twins from asking off beat questions, and Molly and Arthur chatting away, while Severus gave one- and two-word responses when he could get a word in edge-wise. They touched on his guardianship of Harry briefly, and Arthur whistled dramatically under his breath, saying, "You will never feel a thrill of fear as strong as the one you feel when a child of yours is in peril."

"I am _quite_ familiar with that _thrill_," Severus said in his slow enunciation, albeit in a tone that was _possibly_ sarcastic and ultimately unreadable for its true sentiment. He settled his eyes on Harry who looked up at him then and smiled an amused smile that revealed genuine affection. Severus nearly gave himself away at that, as a warm rush of unfamiliar emotion swept through him. He had revealed far too much to his audience already, but he was not feeling as unsettled at this as he probably should. Tomorrow, the entire Hogwarts student population and staff would know he was Harry's guardian. The only way around that was through it.

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"Is this really happening?" Ron blurted his inner monologue out loud after they'd watched the Evil Bat of the Dungeons _disapparate_ with their friend. "How is this happening?"

"It is rather an odd site," Hermione agreed. "But I'm scared for Harry, Ron. He needs someone looking out for him. And he even said that we'll come to see Snape in a different light pretty quickly." She giggled a tiny laugh, remembering the way Harry had read Snape's humor at the table, when no one else was catching on. "They already understand each other."

"I'm not happy about this, Hermione," Ron said with conviction. "Snape's been a total bastard to Harry, to all of us, but especially Harry, all this time, and now none of that matters?"

"You heard Harry," Hermione said with a shaky voice. "He's been through _so much_ that we can't possibly fathom. Life and death situations, Ron. There's no telling what could happen with his scar. He's terrified and dreading having to face it. That changes the way people see things." She sat down in one of the warm chairs. Ron followed suit. "They've bonded, Ron. Give it a chance, won't you?"

"It's not like we've got much choice with it," Ron said glumly.

"Careful what you say," Hermione warned as she spotted Ginny and the twins coming their way.

"What are you two on about, then?" Fred asked.

"I was just asking Hermione how this could be happening? You know, how can Harry possibly trust Snape?" Ron told his brother.

For once, Fred and George didn't have a snappy comeback. It was Ginny who responded, just as Hermione was opening her mouth, "It's happening because that's _Harry_. Of course they're growing close. Harry brings the best out in people, if they just take the time to get to know him."

After ten minutes of dissecting the lunchtime conversation and the way Snape had behaved at the table, how clean his hair looked, how he'd worn a _white shirt_ at the table, _with the collar open, _they ran out of steam. They all agreed to see how things went in the coming days and weeks. Ginny snickered about how many girls were going to start crushing on their potions professor now. Ron proposed they go see if there were leftovers in the kitchen. No one was the least bit surprised.

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"Do you feel better about resuming school tomorrow?" Severus asked as they stepped out of the floo and back into Severus' quarters. The two of them removed their outer wear and banished robe and jacket to their respective bedrooms, and then Severus replaced his arm around Harry and guided him over to the couch, sitting heavily and dragging the boy down with him.

Harry leaned back into the cushions and looked up at the high ceiling over the sitting room, stopping to consider his answer. "I don't know. At least they already know that you're my guardian and we're getting along. And about the horcruxes, which was tough to talk about."

"You were in tears," Severus pointed out, reaching his hand up to card through Harry's hair a few times while he waited for the boy to respond.

"Yeah," Harry said, remembering a somewhat similar discussion on the other timeline that had taken place on the first morning of classes. "I think I scared them, but I couldn't help it when I saw Hedwig, it was just such a relief that she's actually alive. And all of it started hitting me again." That numb feeling started clouding his focus. Severus squeezed him with the arm that was still around his shoulders. "I'm better off this time though, with Ron and Hermione already knowing the worst."

"Do they?" Severus asked carefully. "What's the worst of all of this for you?"

"My scar," Harry whispered.

"For me as well," Severus admitted solemnly. He squeezed Harry again and kissed his temple as a heavy dread settled in his stomach.

The two of them sat there in comforting silence, watching the flames, for nearly thirty minutes. Severus could tell Harry had started to doze and took the opportunity to reflect on the many _many_ things that remained undiscussed between them, first and foremost his impression of Harry's actions in yesterday's confrontation with Umbridge and Fudge. Not only had the boy been completely sensible about his defense, but he'd even chosen a proper venue to try out his new spell, which had been _brilliant_. His fifteen year old ward had already learned how to channel his peripheral magic into a spell of his creation, that had been powerful enough to _over_power Fenrir Greyback. That was something. Ever mindful of Lupin's accusations about his indifference to Harry's sensitivity, Severus wanted to pick his moment to praise Harry, when there wasn't a multitude of other issues threatening to detract from the moment.

He was hard pressed to determine which should be addressed in their next window of opportunity. Fudge had died in front of Harry, while _engaging_ with Harry, and the boy had been openly bothered, but they had not yet discussed this. They'd come back here and Harry had asked about the slicing hex. Severus had felt as if an enormous burden had been lifted from his shoulders after their discussion last night, and actually thought that it would pave the way towards him having stronger credibility with Harry. But this poor boy, this _child,_ needed so much time and space to recover, at the very least, from all that he'd recently suffered through. Severus wasn't particularly eager to see Harry return to his dorm tomorrow night, either. He was curious as to where Harry stood on this.


	18. Chapter 18

**_A/N: I just LOVE three-day weekends. Lookie what I got to do! BTW, The "protect the turtle" bit was inspired by Craig Ferguson's opening monologue on his show late last night when I was working on this. He had an entirely inappropriate meaning behind it, of course, that I chose not to use here. ;-)_**

Chapter 18 - EM-E - Moving On - Part II

Harry pulled out of his doze, realizing after a while that he felt much safer when he was sitting still and keeping quiet thoughts in his own mind. But there was too much to worry about again. The whole day had almost gone by, and he'd heard nothing about the Ministry of Magic's acknowledgement of Fudge's demise. Did they even know?

"They undoubtedly do, but the morning edition of the paper had no such news, as of yet. We must watch and wait, but in the meantime, will go about our business the best we can. You do have your O.W.L.s to prepare for, after all," Severus had told him. He'd given Harry a squeeze before removing his arm and standing up. "We'll have company shortly."

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Lucius arrived with Draco at four, in time for a light tea, which they took in the Room of Requirement to give the four of them a larger space to have _a chat._ Harry had suggested Draco design the room, and the blond ponce had requested a French "boutique hotel" interior. All of the furnishings were the stereotypical _French country, _with rustic aged wood tables and chairs washed in antique white, and cushions in muted tones. Even Harry knew that style, in spite of having grown up in a cupboard. Harry struggled to give Lucius a withering look, but couldn't manage it. Clearly, the blond father and son had already had their discussion. And clearly, it was an inherited trait to _mess with people_. But Harry actually liked their humor now, in small doses, and when he wasn't feeling overly sensitive about his magic, his insecurities, his lack of family, and the way predators could always find him. Lucius had obviously liked his French-enhanced high voice spell, but what had Severus thought of his _Lapsus sido_ spell? They hadn't had a chance to talk about it yet.

"So, Potter, now that we're bound to be best mates, should we start our own language, do you think?" Draco drawled, forcing Harry out of his worried thoughts.

"What?" Harry asked with an annoyed edge, already feeling reluctant to try to work things out with Draco. The two of them had wandered a few feet away from their elders. He gave Draco an exasperated look.

Draco leaned in, speaking in a conspiring tone. "We could have code phrases. Like, if I say, _'protect the turtle,'_ you'll know I mean to go hide your head somewhere."

Harry glowered at him, not liking the way Draco was making light of things that were making Harry's stomach hurt with worry. "What do you know, at this point?"

Draco turned to give him a once over with his ferret eyes, his lip curling as it did when he imagined himself to be both clever _and_ superior, "I know that Severus has reigned you in, gotten you under control-"

"Look," Harry interrupted, instantly reminded of all the things he _didn't_ like about Draco. "If you're just going to mess with me, I don't see much point-"

"Father told me that you've killed the Dark Lord _twice_ now, and that we owe you a life debt, and that my aunt hit you with a pretty nasty curse," Draco interrupted Harry in his not-so-poncey voice. "I know you've already lived through most of January once before, and during that time, we formed an alliance that was working out well, and probably saved my life and my friends' lives."

"Yeah," Harry said, trying not to sound as irritated as he was. He'd risen to Draco's bait and was overreacting. He took a deep breath. "Last time, we had Remus set up a chance for us to publicly show that we were working things out in Defense class, and it worked really well. But then I had a run-in with Parkinson and some rogue sixth year witches from your House later that could have gotten bad, if you hadn't shown up. _That_ was when you basically declared your allegiances."

"Rogue witches?" Draco sneered teasingly. Harry rolled his eyes as the blond continued, "Father also told me you can take care of yourself, that you have _skills,"_ this, of course, was said with blatant disbelief, "so how would it have _gotten bad_ with Parkinson?"

"Just that I was in the dungeons coming from Severus' rooms and no one else was around to witness them trying to gang up on me," Harry said. "It would have been my word against theirs."

"Your word would be enough with our Headmistress, wouldn't it?"

"I wasn't really sure it would. Long story," Harry hedged, realizing it wasn't McGonagall he'd been worried about not believing him at that point.

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"I will admit to a high level of tension," Lucius told Severus as they surreptitiously watched the younger wizards interact. "I'm quite happy to oblige Minerva's request to be an additional presence for security on the grounds as a member of the Board of Governors. After all that Harry revealed this morning, I don't believe I'll spend many hours off the grounds until this is completely done, Severus."

"That is a comfort to my ears," Severus said, clearly having no issue with his friend's plans. "I believe Harry would agree."

"I'd like for those two to become friends," Lucius said about the boys. "I've always wanted it, but now that I know Harry, I think they'd actually like each other. Draco just needs to use more care with his teasing."

"I think we both know it's _bullying,_ Lucius," Severus said in a low tone. "And between the examples that both you and I have set for him, Draco will be challenged to earn Harry's regard."

"I realize this," Lucius admitted quietly. "I just pray he won't have to suffer a life-altering trauma to find himself humbled."

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Remus stopped by Severus' quarters to check in with them about the following morning's plan. "So, I will come for you at eight thirty, Harry, and we'll go straight to The Burrow," he summarized, bowing shallowly at Severus when the potions master handed him a tumbler with a shot of firewhiskey.

"Great," Harry said uncomfortably. "Thanks, Remus." He was feeling like a needy child who was completely unable to stifle his fears about something happening to Hedwig before he got her safely here. Severus had arranged everything about tomorrow without Harry having to ask, so that had been good. But he felt shaky and nervous again, and had retreated into the farther end of the sofa and turned himself sideways with his knees drawn up, arms hugged around them, and knew both adults were aware of his disquiet.

Severus watched his ward with concern. Harry had seemed alright when they'd returned here after their time with the Malfoys, but something had shifted again during their dinner conversation. It had been then that Severus had told Harry he'd prefer for the boy to sleep down here in his bedroom rather than return to the dorms, but that the decision was Harry's. Harry had flashed him a happy look at first, but then had retreated into troubled thoughts. He'd finally explained that he wanted to keep Hedwig close for their first night back, and that she'd do better if they stayed in his dorm. Severus was not pleased, but had agreed, and told Harry he understood his concerns. He had admitted then that he'd sensed Harry's anxiety strongly enough to have arranged for Harry to leave for Kings Cross, together with his friends and his owl, from The Burrow the following morning. And while he was reluctant to let the boy out of his sight, he needed to remain at school to keep surveillance on the map, as well as do last minute preparations for lessons that he'd neglected in favor of spending time with Harry this past week.

"Are you ready to start back up with classes?" Lupin was asking the boy. He'd taken a seat on the sofa and turned to face Harry.

"I guess so," Harry said, visibly trying to shake himself of the nagging, fretful thoughts that were plaguing him. He looked at both Remus and Severus. "It's just that with all of the students back, it just feels like…"

"A circus in the making?" Severus quipped, spreading his hands before him as if to lay out a scene of chaos.

That made Harry laugh. "Exactly."

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When it was just the two of them again, Harry felt like he should apologize to Severus for not agreeing to stay in his bedroom. "It's what I'd rather do," he said. "But-"

"It's alright, Harry," Severus said with frown, finally realizing Harry was worrying about _his_ feelings. "And you may sleep here any night you choose, or not again until the Easter holiday. It's up to you. I will miss your company, but I will also be busy, and not physically here nearly as often anyway."

Harry nodded quickly, eyes on the fire. "Right."

"Look at me," Severus directed, and when Harry complied, he allowed one of his rare smiles to find its way to his face. "I haven't yet told you how impressed I was with the way you comported yourself in yesterday's mayhem." The look on Harry's face at his words made such a huge lump form in Severus' throat that he literally could not speak again for a moment, so he covered by holding Harry's stare as if to bring home the full conviction of his words. "Well done with Fenrir Greyback, Young Harry."

Harry grinned happily, ducking his head to hide his emotions for a few minutes. "Thanks," he finally said. "That was one of the spells I wanted to practice. The other one isn't as rough, but it makes the recipient think they're being tortured. I had Umbridge in mind for it. I guess I won't get to try it on her."

Severus' smile turned to a smirk. "Oh, the suspense," he drawled. He refrained from admonishing Harry to be careful when he finally did introduce the other spell into a confrontation. Clearly the boy had good sense about this facet of his defensive arsenal.

The fireplace roared and Dumbledore's head appeared in the flames. "Ah, Severus, Harry, would it be alright if I came through?"

"Of course," Severus said, but not without trepidation as he stood to give Albus his seat and moved over to sit near Harry.

"I've a bit of news, just in time for you both to face a new term with many, many unanswered questions about security," Albus began in uncharacteristic irony. "The Ministry of Magic will announce Cornelius Fudge's passing in the evening edition of the _Prophet_ tomorrow, but they will not reveal the circumstances, nor the players present when it happened. The Wizengamot officially sanctioned Madam Bones to act as Interim Minister of Magic, but she has had little time to oversee more than immediate efforts to purge out the unreliables from the Ministry's ranks."

Harry frowned at that, remembering what Ron had pointed out earlier. _It's as if nothing that's gone on here matters at all._ He shook his head with disgust, but kept his thoughts to himself.

"There has been no formal acknowledgement, outside of the emergency panel that Madam Bones has established, that Voldemort no longer exists in corporeal form, and therefore nothing official is on record about the incident as of yet," Albus continued, watching both of the dark haired wizards over the rim of his glasses while he spoke.

"While neither Lucius nor I have had contact with any from the Dark Lord's the inner circle, we obviously know that they've gleaned onto the facts, hence the scramble to claim the horcruxes," Severus said. "And we will not know until tomorrow and over the coming days just how this is impacting the families of Voldemort supporters."

"Indeed," Albus said grimly. "You will both be wise to act with caution at all times."

"When will you be reinstated?" Harry asked the elderly wizard.

"Not as soon as I'd prefer, Harry," Albus admitted. "I'm afraid the Ministry of Magic is in shambles, and will only be able to act in a legislative manner in response to individual crises as they present themselves."

"In other words, something bad has to happen here first," Harry said resentfully.

"Yes," Albus admitted. "I do believe that is the case." He allowed a beat to pass before he winked at Harry. "You must simply continue on as you are, Harry. I quite liked both of your spells yesterday."

"You were there in time to see the _Lapsus sido?"_ Harry asked. "I didn't see you until after."

"That was my unfortunate intention, Harry. I have no right to be on the school grounds, and certainly no right to raise my wand in circumstances that are not being recognized by the Ministry of Magic. Too much is at stake, so I have to measure my risks. But you four handled the problem quite nicely."

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The following morning found Harry enduring the bumpy ride on the Night Bus with the Weasleys, Remus and Hermione. He carefully guarded Hedwig's cage from bangs and collisions with other moving objects. It was a nuisance, but worth every bruise he acquired along the way, just to have her back in his life. Remus had stayed close to him, crowding in with Ron and Hermione in the corner they'd usurped on the downstairs level. Harry could tell Remus was enjoying the goofy journey, but was also there to reassure Harry, which meant the world to him. In fact, he had a much stronger conviction about how well protected he was on this timeline, and in truth, a lot of it had to do with Severus praising him the previous night.

At Platform Nine and Three Quarters in Kings Cross Station, they milled through the crowd and found a clearing where the lot of them could gather together to wait to board the train. The twins had come, along with Arthur and Molly, to see them off, so there were a slew of ginger heads as usual. Harry looked around and caught Lucius' eye from a dozen yards away. Lucius gave him an upraised eyebrow of silent inquiry, to which he nodded back that he was alright, and received a small smile in return. Lucius did not let his eyes wander through the group Harry was with, instead looking around for his son. Draco was a few feet away, talking with Daphne Greengrass and Theodore Knott.

_So far, so good,_ Harry thought. But he fully expected trouble.

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The journey played out much the same as it had previously, with Ron and Hermione leaving their things with Harry in an empty compartment and heading off to act as Prefects. The rest of the _Ministry Ensemble_ appeared, and the next hour was filled with conversation with Neville, Ginny and Luna that was nearly identical to the previous ride, with no mention from Harry of Voldemort's demise, nor the fact that Umbridge had been running amuck. Instead, he told them only that he'd heard she was under house arrest. Everyone was glad McGonagall was recovered and would be there to greet them.

By the time Ron and Hermione had returned and the others had left to go visit other friends, Harry had calmed down a tad. At one point, Lucius had passed the compartment and looked in through the window, casting a quick look at their expressions to see that all was well and then winking at Harry as he moved along. Harry grinned at him, but caught Ron's scowl and sobered quickly.

For once, Ron showed a little sensitivity without being admonished first by Hermione. "I know what you said, Harry. But it will definitely take a lot for me to see him any differently."

"I know," Harry said. But the smile returned, and he recapped Friday's encounter at Hogwarts, laughing as he retold Lucius using his spell.

Ron and Hermione had each grown very quiet, and were clearly stunned at what they'd heard. "This happened _two days ago_, and you're already telling it with a laugh?" Ron asked.

"Harry, that must have been terrifying!" Hermione said fretfully.

"It was," Harry agreed. "And that was _after_ Wormtail had posed as my Uncle Vernon and kidnapped me and my social worker from the hospital, where my cousin was apparently dying-"

"That's where Dad and Bill found you, right?" Ron asked, completely riled now. "Blimey, Harry!"

"I know," Harry said calmly. "That was just _one day_, Ron. I've had a bunch of those days, so I don't have time to try to justify to you why you can trust Malfoy Sr., but you can. Even if you don't like him."

Remus joined them right then, and his expression was full of turmoil as he came in and sat by Harry. "You've not yet seen the _Daily Prophet_, have you, Harry?"

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Harry slammed the bloody gossip rag down on the floor and leaned forward with his hands over his face, trying desperately to hold in his tumultuous emotions. He was surprised to feel Remus lay a hand on his neck and squeeze briefly, and then move it over to his shoulder and let it rest there. No one asked Harry to speak, but they could all see the article from where it lay, face up on the floor.

**The Minister of Magic is Dead!**

The article revealed that Cornelius Fudge had died Friday under suspicious circumstances before it went on to summarize his investigation into The Boy Who Lived. It was written from a perspective that they'd likely all been hoodwinked by Harry Potter's claims of having seen the resurrection of _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named_ last summer after the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and how the now deceased _dedicated official_ had been questioning whether Potter himself had murdered the Diggory boy. From there, it went into another full blown, nearly identically verbatim to the last timeline's exposé on Harry's abusive upbringing in the Dursley household, and how it had predisposed him to dishonesty, attention-seeking behavior, and now possibly murder. And of course, it revealed his petition for Emancipation.

"I hadn't seen this yet," Hermione said shakily.

Harry felt his coin warm and vibrate in his pocket but ignored it. He could feel Remus reaching for his own while still keeping his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"He's just seen it. I'm with him now," Remus chanted to the coin, wandlessly creating his response. _"Nuntius."_

Harry watched his tears drip onto the floor, heavily and rapidly enough to leave a widening stain in the carpet. Now Severus, Lucius and Dumbledore all knew he was a mess, too. He couldn't look at anyone. The paper had been snatched up by Ron, who was reading it thoroughly.

"I knew it!" Ron rasped. "All this time, _I bloody knew it."_ He stared at the top of Harry's head, wishing he could think of something to say or do to ease his best mate's troubles. "I'll kill anyone who tries to mess with you over this, Harry. You can count on that."

Hermione could read that the tension in her best friend required adult intervention, and at least for once, someone was actually present for Harry. She moved over to kneel beside him and press her forehead into his hair. "You know you can tell us anything, and you know we'll leave you to decide what to say, and when to say it, right?" She didn't really expect an answer, so she stood up. "We'd better go back to the front of the train, Ron. We'll be arriving shortly."

When they'd left, Remus warded the compartment against any further intrusion and simply leaned back against the bench. He moved his hand to gently pat Harry's back and let the boy work through his distress.

After a while, Harry mopped his face on his sleeve and leaned back too, forcing Remus to move his arm, and knowing that he'd later be pleased that the reserved werewolf had mustered the courage to drape it around Harry's shoulders. "A very similar article came out about the way I grew up last time, and that was bad enough. But nothing like this, with all of those accusations by Fudge."

"I've told you before that you are not alone with this, Harry," Remus said adamantly. "Those of us who know you best are ready to set that bloody paper factory ablaze to end their nonsense, once and for all."

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Harry dragged himself off the train with dread. The cars were wall-to-wall with clamoring students, so of course he got separated from Remus almost immediately. He looked around as he deboarded the train with Hedwig and saw him greeting Hagrid a few feet away. There wasn't much sign that the other students had read the paper yet. Harry trudged along, holding Hedwig's cage against his chest with both arms wrapped around it. Ginny had Crookshanks again, and the half-kneazle was acting normally, so Harry kept pace with the two of them. They in turn moved along with Neville and Luna for a few feet until an all-out scuffle broke out between Pansy Parkinson, Kimberly Chapel and Lara Melford, and the three witches were pushing and shoving and cursing each other enough to force a major parting in the crowd. Harry was separated and on his own again, and though a very strong part of him wanted to see the witches fight, like any healthy adolescent wizard would, he had Hedwig to think about, and wanted very badly to get back up to the castle.

He turned to head towards the carriages and damned if he didn't get shoved again, and sent sprawling again, only this time his beloved familiar was trapped in her cage and forced to endure the fall with him. A wash of frustrated rage swept over him, the one that came from being a target, and having no way to defend himself from predators.

_But I do, don't I? _he thought angrily. _There's only so much I can take of this shite._

"Watch yourself, Potter!" Goyle called over his shoulder laughing raucously as he joined the burly seventh years that were, as before, his new posse.

"Enough of that, Goyle," Draco said harshly. He offered a hand up to Harry, who took it, but then bent back down to check on Hedwig.

"What's it to _you,_ Malfoy?" One of the seventh years barked in disgust.

"Call it school pride, Barton," Draco said sarcastically. "I'm a Prefect. And you're a big boy now. You should know better."

"No, it's _you_ who ought to know better," Barton returned, with a very real threat in his tone.

"Is there a problem here?" Lucius interject as he strolled with deliberate calm towards the scene.

Harry would have had no qualms about tripping Goyle with far more violence than he'd done on the previous timeline. Being saved by Draco of all people was not doing much for the self loathing and bitterness he was battling. He tried to reign himself in while he checked on Hedwig. She was indignant and definitely had ruffled feathers, but seemed to be uninjured otherwise. "Sorry about that, girl. It's why I've been worrying about you." He glared over at Goyle, who was still surrounded with the thuggish older students and was walking away with a smirk of satisfaction on his face. Harry opened the cage and helped the snowy white owl out. She clung to his arm as he raised her up to have a more thorough look at her. "I was going to have you come up to the dorm with me tonight, alright?" Hedwig _HOOTed_ her annoyed acquiescence. "Good. I'll take you up there before dinner so you can have a chance to recover a bit."

"Alright, Harry?" Lucius asked carefully, as if he knew exactly how volatile Harry's anger would be just now.

"Yeah," Harry said, keeping his head ducked down, but flashing them both a look of acknowledgement and saying to Draco, "Thanks for that. I guess you've just declared your allegiances, then." He coaxed Hedwig back into her cage. "Just until we're inside, girl." When he'd managed that, and had picked the cage back up, he turned to head back and nearly collided with Severus.

Indifferent to the curious observation of scores of students, his guardian was looking at him with deep concern as he took the cage from Harry and suspended it from his right hand while he wrapped his left arm around his unresisting ward. "I will escort you while you deliver your familiar to safety," he said, laying his cheek on Harry's head while he simply held him.

_I guess Severus just declared his allegiances as well,_ Harry thought, wrapping his arms around the older wizard and clinging to him as everything that was difficult in his life hit him all over again.


End file.
